Let the Games Begin
by TRUSSELL33
Summary: What would Booth do if Brennan suddenly came on to him? Written as a challenge on another site but am thinking of turning it into a short story. Let me know if anyone is interested.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, guys, it's me again. I wrote this for a challenge on another site. The challenge was do 26 sentences with the first sentence containing 26 words and each subsequent sentence one less word. Anyway, I am seriously thinking of turning this into a short (LOL) story. So, if anyone is interested in that, let me know.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

"Bones," Booth whined, coming into her office and letting the door swing shut behind him, giving her a puppy dog look, "are you coming sometime today?"

Brennan's eyes narrowed as she stood up from her chair, but there was a smile on her face which got bigger as she approached Booth.

Booth looked at that sexy smile and swallowed hard, it was not a look he had ever seen his partner direct at him before.

Sure, he'd seen that "hungry woman on the prowl" look directed his way enough to easily identify it, just never coming from Bones.

Brennan invaded Booth's personal space and he backed up until he was against the wall with her chest lightly pressed against his.

Going up on tiptoe, she whispered, "I don't know, Booth, that's kind of up to you," teasingly nipping at his earlobe.

Booth's eyes involuntarily closed at her breath puffing against his ear, but popped open at her teeth on his earlobe.

Instantly aroused, his entire body vibrated with the growl that came from deep within his throat and she laughed.

Grabbing Brennan's arms, he forced her back before he just gave her what she was obviously asking for.

"Bones, what are you doing?" his voice was husky, but even forming words right now was difficult.

Reaching out, she ran a single finger down his tie, stopping just above his belt buckle.

Looking into her eyes, his attention was focused on that finger and its next destination.

Smiling sexily into his eyes, her finger ran down to his belt buckle, hovering.

"You're an FBI Agent, Booth, figure it out," Booth shivered at the words.

Tapping his belt buckle, she spun around, heading out of the office.

_What the hell had just happened here?_ he asked himself.

_Had the woman of his dreams just propositioned him?_

_Unless he was sadly mistaken, yes, she had_.

_So, Bones wanted to play, did she?_

_He had wanted to play forever_.

Grinning, he made a decision.

_Oh, yeah, game on._

So, get ready.

Get set.

GO!


	2. Chapter 2

**This is a repost. I accidently left out part of the chapter so please take the time to reread. Sorry about that. Thanks.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Angela Montenegro stood stock still outside Dr. Temperence Brennan's office in the Medico-Legal lab of the Jeffersonian Institute, unable to believe what she was seeing. She was so disbelieving that she raised a hand to her forehead to make sure she didn't have a temperature high enough to make her hallucinate. _No, no fever_. She then pinched her arm to make sure she was awake. _Shit, that hurt. Yep, she was awake._ Maybe there was some contaminate in the air making people act out of character because no way would her best friend have her studly FBI partner pushed up against the wall. Eyes widening and then squinting, she leaned forward to get a better look. _No. Freaking. Way_. Brennan had just bitten Booth on the earlobe and he looked like he wanted to jump her right then and there. Which Angela was all for, she had just all but given up on seeing it in her lifetime.

Watching closely, she saw Brennan run a finger down Booth's tie to hover over his belt buckle and lean in to whisper something in his ear. She could see Booth's eyes close and his hands clench into fists. _God, they would set the building on fire if they had sex here,_ she told herself, frantically fanning her flushed face with the folder she had been bringing to Brennan. Angela jumped to the side a little as Brennan turned and sashayed out of the room, Booth's eyes glued to the exaggerated sway of her hips.

"Did you need me for something, Angela?" Brennan asked, her voice brimming with laughter at the sight of her wide eyed friend. Falling into step beside her, Angela quickly regained her sense of humor. Looking back into Brennan's office, she saw Booth's gaze still glued to Brennan's butt and laughed aloud.

"Bren, why did you leave Booth in a puddle of goo on your floor? That's not very nice, you know. And what happened to the vow you made a month ago?" Angela's grin told Brennan she knew exactly why she had come on to Booth but she was curious as to what had changed her mind. Brennan shrugged.

"I reevaluated my relationship matrix and determined that active participation was required to achieve the desired outcome," sighing at Angela's look of confusion, Brennan gave it to her in much more simple terms. "I decided to buy a ticket on that ride, I believe was your vernacular, Ange. Besides, in all likelihood I will expire as a octogenarian before he vocally expresses interest," she muttered under her breath, startled when Angela began shrieking and jumping around like a lunatic, apparently having no trouble translating that Brennan expected to die of old age before Booth asked her out. She jumped around hugging Brennan, pushing her back to look at her face then hugging her again, squealing the entire time.

"Okay, Ange, I get it. You're happy for me. Ange, you're suffocating me," Brennan wheezed and Angela immediately let go of her stepping back, holding a hand over her mouth to stifle the squeals. Noting the looks being thrown their way, Brennan patted Angela on the arm. "Maybe you should take a few minutes in your office to calm down, Ange," she suggested. Hand still over her mouth, Angela nodded and ran for her office as Brennan strode to the top of the platform to give the opinion Booth had been bugging her about.

Making it to her office and closing the door firmly, Angela began to dance around the room, trying to keep the squeals to a minimum. She was just so happy for Booth and Brennan she couldn't help it. And she was at least partially responsible for this she told herself proudly. She had been very discouraged with Brennan's decisions after their little sleep over a month ago, but she had, apparently, said or done the right thing. Her friend had just needed time to think things over. _Wonder exactly what did it for her? _Angela mused, her mind drifting backward.

*FLASHBACK BEGINS*

Dr. Temperence Brennan was in her office at the Jeffersonian Institute, which was, by no means, an unusual occurrence. What was unusual, however, was that instead of working industriously at her computer, studying research material, grading grad student papers, etc. she was pacing furiously back and forth across her office, arms folded across her chest, muttering to herself, occasionally running an agitated hand through her hair.

Cam and Angela had been walking past Brennan's office talking when the muttering caught their attention. Thinking Brennan was talking to Booth, they turned toward the office to say hi and saw Brennan. They had been standing there, mouths agape, eyes following Brennan's militant march the last 15 minutes. Brennan had made numerous trips directly in front of the two women but had yet to notice their presence. They were actually inching closer to the door and straining to hear when Hodgins approached from behind, saying loudly, "What are you two doing?"

Both women spun around and shushed him furiously. Angela grabbed his arm, dragged him between her and Cam and pointed into Brennan's office.

"Hello," whispered Hodgins, also gaping. "What's up with Dr. B?"

"We don't know," whispered back Angela.

"But she does seem quite upset," added Cam. Hodgins threw her a _No, you don't mean it_ look then turned back to Brennan.

"What is she saying?" asked Hodgins grinning like a fool.

"Well, we're only getting bits and pieces," said Cam, "but so far we've caught that man, alpha male behavior and making me act like a mentally unstable person."

"I think she means lunatic," interjected Angela. "I've never seen her like this."

"What do you think set her off?" questioned Hodgins.

The three of them looked at each other and simultaneously uttered one word.

"Booth."

"Well, shouldn't we go in and talk to her?" asked Angela.

Suddenly Cam and Hodgins looked at Angela with trepidation.

"Um, Angela, that might not be such a great idea." Hodgins was fidgeting and rubbing his earlobe.

"Why?" asked Angela with confusion.

"She is _very_ agitated, Angela," replied Hodgins.

"Wait. Are you afraid of her?" asked Angela incredulously.

"Absolutely," replied Hodgins comfortably. "She could kick my butt on my best day. Let's face it, Angie, she just doesn't look like she's in the mood for a nice, friendly chat and do any of us _really _want to piss her off when she's already in such a bad mood?" He finished with a sheepish shrug.

"I agree with Hodgins" piped up Cam. "I vote we just leave her alone or we could call Booth and make him clean up his own mess." She looked up from her little speech and found Angela looking at her with a raised eyebrow, arms crossed and foot tapping.

"I meant to say that we could let Booth know that Dr. Brennan appears to be upset and that we, I mean she, might benefit from him calming her down." She back pedaled quickly.

"You two are pathetic," Angela snorted. "First of all…," only to be interrupted by Hodgins yelling, "Hey, I resent that," in response to the pathetic comment. Angela simply looked at him with her eyebrow rising higher and her foot tapping faster until Hodgins dropped his head.

"First of all," she continued, "Bren would never physically hurt any of us. You," here she poked Hodgins in the chest, "should know that better than anyone. You were buried alive together, for Heaven's sakes." At this reminder of Brennan saving his life, Hodgins hung his head in shame and Angela rounded on Cam. "Second, if Booth is the person responsible for upsetting her this much then it's probably not the brightest idea to send him in there right now, just so you don't have to deal with an angry Brennan," Angela finished furiously.

At this point, Cam had also hung her head in shame. She and Hodgins glanced at each other sheepishly and mumbled simultaneous apologies for their behavior.

"Yeah, yeah, now just go away, both of you so I can talk to Bren," Angela ordered.

"But, Angela," began Cam only to be interrupted by Hodgins.

"I want to help," the bug man told Angela earnestly.

"Not listening," Angela told them both. "Go. Now." Raising her arm, she pointed in the general vicinity of the central platform. Hodgins and Cam went, both looking at the ground and shuffling their feet like children being sent to their rooms for misbehaving.

"Children, I work with brilliant children," muttered Angela with a smile watching Came and Hodgins. _Okay,_ she thought_, let's get this over with_. Taking a couple of deep cleansing breaths, she spun around only to give a startled scream to find Brennan standing directly in front of her, arms crossed, eyebrow raised and foot tapping impatiently.

_Oh, crap_, thought Angela, _I wonder if it's too late to call Booth_?

"Bren, Sweetie, how long have you been standing there?" questioned Angela anxiously.

"Not long. Why?" asked Brennan. "What were you, Hodgins and Cam talking about?" Eyes narrowed, suspiciousness crept into Brennan's voice.

"Oh, you know us, we were just shooting the breeze," responded Angela with a grin. Inside, she was thinking, _Thank God she didn't hear us talking_. She knew Brennan would have been deeply hurt by the unthinking remarks made by people she considered family though she would never admit anyone held the power to hurt her.

"I don't know what that means." Angela came out of her reverie with Brennan's word echoing in her ears.

"What? What what means?" asked Angela in confusion.

"Shooting the breeze. I don't know what that means," responded Brennan patiently, looking at Angela strangely.

"Oh, it just means talking about nothing in particular," explained Angela with a smile. Brennan looked like she had fully recovered from whatever had upset her so much. In fact, she looked like a woman on a mission and Angela found herself hesitant to bring up something that was going to upset her best friend, deciding to wait till she'd really had time to cool down to find out what Booth had done to piss her off this time.

"Oh," responded Brennan, chewing on her bottom lip and looking at Angela in indecision.

"Where are you off to?" asked Angela taking a small step back and to the side so she was no longer blocking Brennan's exit from her office. "I'll just let you get back to work and," Angela was startled into silence when Brennan grabbed her arm and almost shouted "No."

"No, Ange, don't go," she said more softly. "I was just coming to talk to you and we can talk in my office as easily as yours."

"Ok," Angela entered Brennan's office and sat down on her couch. She was surprised when Brennan closed and locked her office door and resumed her previous pacing, minus the muttering. Angela sat patiently for several minutes waiting for Brennan to say something. When nothing was forthcoming, she cleared her throat and started the conversation herself. "Bren, what did you..," but was cut off when Brennan raised her hand sharply in the universal sign for silence.

"Alrighty then," murmured Angela, standing and heading for the door. "When you're ready to talk, find me," she threw over her shoulder, reaching for the door handle.

"Wait, Ange," called Brennan with a hint of desperation in her voice. "Please wait. I'm sorry. That was very rude and that certainly wasn't my intent. I'm simply trying to organize my thoughts." She rubbed her hand across her forehead with a sigh.

"It's ok, Bren. You know you can talk to me about anything." Angela replied returning the couch and resuming her previous seat. Brennan did know that and she trusted Angela implicitly, it was just very difficult for her to identify what was going on inside her right now, much less put it into an understandable context and discuss it openly, even with her best friend. After long minutes of watching her friend open and close her mouth, Angela decided it was up to her to get the conversational ball rolling.

"Sweetie, what did you want to talk to me about?" No answer. "Bren, if you want my help, you're going to have to tell me what's going on. I mean, it was pretty obvious that you were really upset earlier so I'm guessing that it's something to do with…," she looked up at Brennan's gasp.

"You saw that?" Brennan asked with a look of absolute horror on her face.

Angela nodded and dropped her head so Brennan wouldn't see the grin she couldn't hold back.

"Did everyone see?" she whispered, even more horrified.

"Not everyone in the lab," Angela soothed. "Only Cam, Hodgins and me," she assured her friend, desperately trying to hold back the giggles attempting to escape at the look on Brennan's face.

"Well, at least you didn't hear me talking to myself like a lunatic," Brennan said with a little sigh and slight decrease in embarrassment. Total and complete silence from the couch made Brennan tense and close her eyes, fervently hoping her friends hadn't overheard her little rant. Forcing her eyes open, she slowly turned them to Angela to see her friend sitting back on the couch with both hands clamped over her mouth to hold in her laughter, her entire body shaking with mirth, tears streaming down her face. But to her credit, not a single sound escaped.

"Oh my God, you did hear me, didn't you?" groaned Brennan walking over to the couch and flopping down beside Angela. Her head fell to the back of the couch with another groan, her embarrassment shooting to at least 20 on a 1-10 scale. She poked her still shaking friend in the arm and said somewhat haughtily, "I seriously doubt it was that funny, Angela." Angela just nodded her head vigorously; knowing that if she tried to answer her friend verbally that the giggles would escape and Brennan's feelings would be hurt. By Angela's reasoning if she didn't make any noise, she wasn't really laughing at her friend.

Brennan looked at the artist and tried to fix in her own mind what she must have looked like marching around her office muttering to herself. Suddenly, she could picture exactly that as if she had been standing in the hall with Angela, Cam and Hodgins watching herself. With that image her lips twitched. She tried desperately to keep the smile off her face but at that instant, a soft giggle escaped and the dam broke, as they both began to laugh hysterically.

Cam and Hodgins had been pretend working on the platform since Angela had banished them from Brennan's office earlier. They both had real work to do elsewhere but had agreed to stay within sight of Brennan's office in case Angela needed their assistance. Neither of them believed Brennan would hurt Angela or any of the rest of them, for that matter, physically. But, at the best of times, she could be difficult and judging from her earlier behavior she might rise to the level of snarkiness that required reinforcements during this little snit. They had both been casting frequent glances toward the office but were taken completely off guard when they heard shrieks coming from Brennan's office. They were on their feet instantly, running toward the sounds.

"Oh my God. What's happening in there?" yelled Hodgins in full panic mode. As they neared the office, the shrieks became ear piercing.

"I don't know," answered Cam, wild eyed. Grabbing a grad student by the arm, Cam was about to order them to call security when she spotted two guards, several grad students and basically anyone else within hearing distance who wasn't dead or stone cold deaf converging on Brennan's office. This close to the office, they could actually feel vibrations from the grating noise.

Cam pushed her way to the front of the gathered crowd, peering curiously into the office, grabbed the door handle and pulled hard. Nothing happened. It took Cam a moment to process and understand that it was locked. She grabbed the nearest guard, pulled him forward and ordered him to unlock the door.

Meanwhile, Hodgins was frantically peering into the office trying to spot Angela and Brennan. At that instant the noise stopped abruptly in mid shriek and there was total silence from within the office. Hodgins finally spotted something and squinted to get a closer look.

"Cam," he yelled, "I can see Angela on the floor. Hurry up!" he snapped at the guard as he pushed to the front of the crowd.

As soon as the door started to open, Hodgins darted inside with Cam hot on his heels. The guard started in after them and Cam turned on the man, ordering him and everyone else to stay outside. Turning back, she crashed into Hodgins who had stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him.

Brennan lay curled up on the couch with a small cushion pressed tightly to her face, shoulders shaking. Angela lay on the floor between the couch and coffee table, turned on her side facing the couch. She, too, had a cushion pressed tightly to her face and her whole body was shaking.

"Are they ok?" whispered Cam, almost afraid to ask. She and Hodgins shared a brief terror filled look and he dropped to his knees beside Angela.

"Angela," he whispered in a shaky voice, reaching a trembling hand out to touch her shoulder and gently roll her to her back. She didn't resist until he gently tried to pull the pillow away from her face. "Angie, please let me have the pillow so I can see that you're ok," pleaded Hodgins. Angela gripped the pillow more tightly, refusing to release her hold and Cam and Hodgins shared a look of helplessness before he went back to his pillow tug of war. "Ange, please," by now his superior strength was beginning to win the war of the pillow.

Ignoring Hodgins, Cam slowly approached Brennan, debating on the advisability of touching her. "Dr. Brennan, it's Cam, are you ok?" she asked softly not wanting to startle Brennan and wind up on the floor or worse. She cautiously reached out and took hold of a corner of the pillow covering Brennan's face, lifting it slowly.

At that instant, Hodgins wrenched the pillow away from Angela's face in victory and the howling shriek that had drawn them here filled the room. Now let me tell you, hearing that noise in a large, open room is an entirely different experience than being close to the source in a semi-enclosed space. In the open lab, it was eerie and disturbing. Up close and personal, it was inhuman. Hodgins was so startled by the terrifying sounds issuing from his fiancée's mouth that he instinctively jumped backwards, all the while screaming like a girl.

Cam screamed at the top of her lungs and stumbled backwards. The pillow went flying halfway across the room and she landed on her butt beside Hodgins, stunned but unhurt. Her eyes darted from Brennan who was laughing so hard she was snorting to Angela, who every time she heard Brennan snort laughed so hard she made that horrifically disturbing sound which made Brennan laugh until she snorted.

"Are they _laughing?_" queried an incredulous Cam.

"No," Hodgins answered decisively, "I've heard laughter and, trust me, that's not it." Looking at each other then back at the still laughing women, Cam felt her lips start to twitch.

"We thought they were killing each other and they were in here lau…," her own giggles drowned out her words and Hodgins turned to look at her in surprise then the humor of the situation struck him, too, and he started to chuckle quietly.

"Yeah, we were coming to rescue them and they were probably telling dirty jokes," Hodgins and Cam were now laughing so hard, they were leaning against each other for support. Neither even noticed when Angela and Brennan noticed their presence and got their own hilarity under control.

"What's with them?" Angela quietly asked her best friend, eyeing Cam and Hodgins like they had lost their minds.

"I have no idea," Brennan answered, giving them the same look. Pulling herself off the floor, Angela stepped over to the laughing pair, snapping her fingers in Hodgins' face to get his attention.

"What's so funny?" Angela demanded. Hodgins and Cam looked at her, then Brennan, then each other and collapsed in heaps on the floor, laughing so hard they were crying. Shrugging, Angela turned back to find Brennan standing directly behind her staring at the crowd of people gathered in front of her office. She could only surmise they had been drawn here by Hodgins' and Cam's juvenile behavior and they all had work they could be doing. Brennan calmly walked to her door, stepped outside and gave the lingering crowd her best teacher look.

"Disperse," she ordered sharply and they scattered like rats on a sinking ship. Angela, always fascinated that the friend she knew to be a warm and caring person, shook her head at the awe and fear she could inspire in others when she wanted to. Watching the crowd scurry away with satisfaction, Brennan was startled when Angela grabbed her arm and started dragging her toward Angela's office.

"Ange, what are you doing?" she demanded.

"You wanted to talk, Bren and I want to listen, so there you go. We're going to my office to talk." Feeling resistance, Angela turned to eye her friend and could see her closing up about whatever she had wanted to talk about. Angela, almost certain it had to do with a very hunky FBI agent wasn't about to let that happen.

"That's ok, Ange. I'm fine now. I'll figure it out." She was a little taken aback by the flash of hurt then anger that moved over Angela's face.

"I thought I was your best friend, Bren," Angela said sadly.

"You are my best friend, Ange," Brennan rushed to reassure her, reaching out to pat her arm a little awkwardly.

"Then stop jerking me around, Bren," Angela's voice was firm and her hands had found their way to her hips. Brennan could tell that Angela was upset but had no clue why.

"I don't know what that means," she said softly, relaxing when Angela's face softened at her words.

"It means, Bren, that as your best friend, it is my duty to listen to your gripes and complaints about your partner. It is also my job to find out what had you so upset earlier and help you through it. Now, Bren, are you going to let me do my job or not?" Angela resisted the urge to smile as Brennan seriously considered the question, chewing on her lower lip in indecision, and finally stiffening her spine and nodding.

"Yes, Angela, I would be pleased to accept your assistance," she said a little formally.

"Okay, then, let's go to my office and talk," Angela was again met with resistance as she tried to pull Brennan toward her office. Brennan shook her head adamantly.

"Ange, I really do want your help, but I don't think we should talk about it here." Angela's eyebrow rose as she noted Brennan's eyes darting around to make sure no one overheard their conversation. _Wow, this must be really good to make Brennan paranoid and she couldn't wait to hear it._

"Lunch?" offered Angela, her brow rising further as Brennan again shook her head.

"I think I need alcohol for this," Brennan told her friend softly. Both of Angela's brows rose even higher as she fought to contain her excitement. Unless she was very mistaken, whatever this was involved one very special FBI agent and Brennan thought she needed alcohol to tell her best friend about it. _Oh, yeah, this was going to be good. _And, dammit, it was the middle of the work day with no alcohol easily availableand she knew Brennan would never agree to blow off work to go get drunk and have some girl time. Her mind whirled and she hit on the perfect solution. Telling herself that patience was a virtue and it wouldn't hurt her to wait a few hours, she grinned at Brennan.

"Ok, Sweetie, here's what we're going to do," she stepped closer and patted Brennan's arm, "we are going to have a sleepover," she was a little disappointed at Brennan's lack of excitement but didn't let that derail her idea. Brennan snorted.

"Ange, we're not 12." Angela wanted to grind her teeth together in frustration at not being able to demand that Brennan just tell her NOW, but she knew that would get her nowhere.

"Come on, Bren. It will be fun. We can get drunk, watch movies, and bash men. What more could a girl want?" Giving her a look that said she could want a lot more, Brennan caved.

"Fine, Ange. When do you want to have a sleepover?"

"Tonight," Angela answered instantly, not about to wait any longer than she had to.

"Don't you have a date?"

"Bren, I would cancel a date with Colin Farrell for this," Brennan looked at her strangely and Angela knew she was being just a little too enthusiastic. "To help out my best friend, Bren, I would cancel a date with a really hot actor." Especially if that best friend was going to give her some titillating details of her personal life with one Seeley Booth. Finally nodding her agreement, Brennan turned toward Limbo.

"Bren, be ready to leave here by six. I mean it," she added when Brennan shot her an incredulous look and opened her mouth to protest. One look at the determined set of Angela's features told her that would be pointless. With a resigned nod, she turned back toward Limbo wondering when she had lost control of her own life. With a self satisfied smile curling her lips, Angela sauntered off to find Hodgins and inform him he would be dining solo tonight. She was sure he would understand that her best friend needed her and what was more important than that?


	3. Chapter 3

**Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. This one is a little shorter than usual but I wanted to give you all something before I go out of town for a few days. Please don't forget to review.**

**Disclaimer: Alas, still not mine, but Santa says I was a good girl this year so maybe for Christmas.**

Brennan unlocked the door to her apartment, pushed it open and stepped back to allow an excited, chattering Angela to enter before her. Try as she might she had been unable to dredge up the amount of enthusiasm that Angela deemed appropriate for this juvenile ritual. Almost morosely, she entered her apartment, closing the door behind her. Turning to find Angela grinning at her happily she couldn't help but return the smile, her friend's zest for life never ceased to amaze and, in some cases, amuse her.

Angela had approached her at 5:50, reminded her that they were leaving at six on the dot and refused to listen to any excuses. She had then dragged a still protesting Brennan to the video store where they had picked up more movies than they could possibly watch in one night, but Angela insisted they had to have an adequate selection of something she called tearjerkers and chick flicks. Brennan thought neither of the genres sounded particularly appealing.

Deciding Brennan probably didn't have enough alcohol to get her as drunk as she might need her to be for details, Angela insisted they stop at the liquor store. She, of course, didn't tell Brennan why they were stocking up on liquor as that would have defeated the purpose of her well thought out plan. She had then dragged Brennan to the corner market where she insisted you couldn't watch chick flicks without double stuffed Oreos, marshmallows, chocolate bars and Nutter Butters. According to Angela you couldn't watch the tear jerker genre of movies without mint chocolate chip and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Brennan seriously doubted her friend's assertion but didn't bother to argue. She had seen Angela like this before and it was best for everyone concerned to just give her what she wanted when she was in this mood.

"What do you want to do first?" Brennan had to laugh at the way Angela's excitement had her almost bouncing in place, but she really didn't have an answer for her friend. She had never been to a slumber party in her life, so she had no real concept of what the ritual entailed. She was almost embarrassed by her ignorance of something young girls placed so much importance on, but knew she could be honest with the artist.

"I don't know, Ange. I've never done this before." Angela didn't know why she was shocked that Brennan had never been to a slumber party, but she was. She had missed out on so much in her adolescence. Angela couldn't change that but she could make her best friend more comfortable with the current situation.

"You know what that means, don't you?" Angela grinned, seeing Brennan frantically searching her giant brain for the correct answer but coming up blank. She looked at Angela helplessly, like she had never failed to find the correct answer before.

"No," she whispered. Angela walked over, slipped her arm around Brennan's shoulders and squeezed tightly.

"Well, Bren, it means that we have to make this the best slumber party _ever_." Brennan's eyes began to glow with the excitement Angela had expected at the mention of the sleepover.

"Really?" Angela laughed as the excitement crept into Brennan's voice.

"Yes, really, Bren." She assured her, striding toward the kitchen, very comfortable in Brennan's apartment. Brennan followed her and put up the ice cream while Angela laid out the assortment of snacks on a tray and dragged out the blender. Brennan had suggested they open a bottle of wine, but Angela had nixed that, telling her Margaritas were an important part of grown up sleepovers. Again, Brennan doubted the validity of that statement, but she liked Margaritas so she didn't argue. Operating the blender like a veteran bartender, Angela quickly made a pitcher of drinks, pouring them each a glass and sticking the remainder in the freezer.

"What do we do now?" Brennan asked almost shyly. Angela may have started this slumber party business as a way to worm information out of her tight lipped best friend, but she was now determined to show her everything that happened at slumber parties, so she could experience it for herself. _Well, maybe not everything,_ Angela decided thinking back to some sleepovers in her late teens and since, she really didn't think Brennan would be into that aspect of sleepovers. Noting that Brennan was now looking at her oddly, she cleared her throat, for once grateful for her friend's inability to read other people.

"Well, we have to chug the first drink of the night," Seeing Brennan about to protest, she clinked their glasses together, "Bottoms up," she encouraged, lifting her glass to her lips and watching in relief as Brennan did the same. _Okay, she had cheated on that one a little, but if she left it up to Brennan she would probably have two drinks all night and Angela would never find out what was going on._ Quickly finishing her drink, Brennan shuddered at the strong taste of alcohol and grinned at Angela proudly.

"What now?" Angela laughed as she was beginning to see the appropriate level of enthusiasm from her friend.

"We have to put on our pajamas."

"What? Why?" Brennan demanded and Angela shrugged.

"It's part of the process, Bren. Trust me on this, ok?" Going to the fridge, Angela poured them both another drink.

"Fine. You can have the shower first if you want," she conceded to her friend's expertise on these matters.

"I'll just use the guest bathroom," Brennan shook her head as Angela made the offer.

"I just had the tub regrouted. You'll have to use the master bath."

"Okey, dokey," Angela grabbed her overnight bag and started down the hallway toward Brennan's bedroom, her head spinning a little from the quick consumption of all the alcohol she had put in the Margaritas. Turning back to Brennan, she lifted her own drink toward her friend. "Glug, glug, woo, woo. Remember, Bren, this is a party." She smiled as Brennan lifted her glass and took a long sip of her drink. Angela made her way to the bathroom and promptly dumped her own drink in the toilet. _Okay, maybe she was cheating a little with that, but Brennan could drink her under the table and she couldn't count on being able to worm details out of a plastered Brennan if she matched her drink for drink. _She also couldn't count on remembering any of the details if she got drunk and that was completely unacceptable.

Brennan set her glass down on the counter and turned to take the snacks and movies into the living room but had to grab the counter when her head spun a little. _How much alcohol had Angela put in those drinks, anyway?_ She knew she should probably care but just couldn't seem to work up any real concern. She was in her own home with a friend, it was perfectly acceptable for her to get drunk if she wanted to and she was only now realizing that she really wanted to. She wanted to drink until she wasn't thinking about her infuriating partner, whom seemed to constantly occupy her thoughts lately and in very inappropriate, unpartnerlike ways. She wanted to ice out as Angela called it, relax, talk and laugh with her friend and not have one thought of Seeley Booth. She had little doubt that Angela would want to talk about Booth, but was confident in her abilities to deflect her friend's curiosity. She deserved one night of girl fun without Booth tormenting her and tonight was going to be that night. She and Angela could discuss her issues tomorrow. Picking up her glass, she drained the contents and poured herself another, already feeling quite relaxed and mellow with the alcohol as well as her decision.

Her trip to the couch was detoured by a knock on the door. She sauntered over to the door, peering curiously out the peephole only to find bags of what could only be takeout blocking her view of the person standing there. _Oh, goody, their food was here and she was hungry. Wait, had they ordered takeout already or just talked about it?_ She asked herself with a frown. _They must have ordered or there wouldn't be a delivery man at her door, _she decided. Flinging the door open, her jaw dropped at the sight of the delivery man. _No, no, no_. She wanted to whimper and throw a tantrum at his appearance, her determination to not have one thought of Seeley Booth shot to hell with his presence and she was just drunk enough to let him feel a little of her displeasure.

"What are you doing here, Booth?" Her clenched teeth were a good indication to the FBI agent that she was still just a tad upset with him, especially when his charm smile didn't get a response.

"It's almost 8 o'clock on Friday night, Bones. I brought dinner." His unspoken "as usual" hung in the air as he stepped around her and entered the apartment, heading for the kitchen. His step faltered as he noticed enough junk food to feed an army laid out on the coffee table, but he continued to the kitchen with her right behind him.

"Booth, I told you I had plans tonight and couldn't have dinner with you," she reminded him in exasperation.

"I know, Bones, but I thought you were just blowing me off because you were mad at me. I didn't think you were serious." Taking a long slug of her drink, Brennan rolled her eyes at her partner.

"I can see that, Booth," she surprised him with her agreement, "considering I'm so prone to witticisms," he had to bite his lip to hold back his chuckle at her sarcasm, her disgruntled expression telling him she wouldn't appreciate and would probably misunderstand his laughter and he certainly didn't want a repeat of today.

"Come on, Bones. Have dinner with me," he cajoled with another charm smile.

"Can't," she answered, taking another long sip of her drink and draining the glass, "I have company." Booth stiffened and stopped pulling Thai out of the bags, turning to see her satisfied smile with a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. Granted, there had been more than enough junk food to feed two people laid out in the living room, but he hadn't seen or heard anyone else in the apartment. Narrowing his eyes, he moved closer until he was standing over her.

"So just where is this company?" he demanded.

"In the shower," she answered innocently, not noticing the way his hands clenched into fists and his teeth ground together at the thought of why her guest would be in the shower. And they had to be in master bathroom, he would have been able to hear the shower from the guest bath from here he knew. _What the hell? _ Was she trying to punish him for today, not that he could really blame her, he had blown it big time, but that didn't mean he had to like being punished. And he could think of few things worse than finding her with another man. He had apologized for today but she had refused to talk about it and he had stupidly let it go, which he would never have done if he'd had any idea it would lead to someone being in her shower tonight. _They were going to hash this thing out right now,_ he decided, ignoring the fact that the whole fiasco today had been caused by him deciding she wasn't ready for the truth.

Feeling very, very good for the first time in recent memory, she stepped around him and headed for the fridge for a refill just as he stepped directly into her path. Reflexes dulled by alcohol, she crashed into him, her hands clutching his t-shirt tightly to maintain her balance, his hands grasping her hips and pulling her closer. _Just so she wouldn't fall_ he told himself ignoring the mocking voice in his head calling him a liar.

"Are you ok, Bones?" he asked softly, tipping her head up with a finger under her chin, getting lost in her blue eyes.

"I'm fine, Booth," she answered just as softly, letting go of his t-shirt and trying to smooth out the wrinkles caused by being caught in her fists. The only thing she was doing, however, was running her hands across Booth's well defined pecs and making him grit his teeth against a surge of arousal caused by her closeness and her touch. _Oh, who was he kidding, all it took lately was a thought about her to get him hot and keep him that way._ Actually seeing and hearing her only added fuel to the fire. Sliding his arms around her waist, he pulled an unresisting Brennan even closer, gritting his teeth to hold back a moan at the contact of groins and chests pressed together.

"We need to talk, Bones. Send your company home," he whispered as his forehead came to rest against hers.

"Can't," she whispered motioning him closer as if wanted to impart her deepest, darkest secret. His head bent, shivers racing down his spine as she whispered directly into his ear, "We're having a sleepover."

Booth's head jerked back as if she had slapped him. _What the hell was wrong with her? _Telling him she was having a sleepover with someone. _Why would she think you would care, buddy?_ Asked his mocking inner voice. Looking more closely, he saw there was definitely something wrong with his Bones, catching a whiff of her breath as she snuggled her head into his shoulder and sighed told him exactly what was wrong with her.

"Bones, are you drunk?" he demanded incredulously. He could not freaking believe she had gone out, gotten drunk, picked up some guy in a bar and brought him home with her all before 8 o'clock. But wait, that didn't really make any sense. She was still dressed in the same clothes she had been wearing today, her hair not even mussed.

"Yep," she assured him happily, dragging his full attention back to her as she snuggled closer, sliding her arms around his waist and closing her eyes. Closing his eyes, he rested his head atop hers for a full minute, breathing in her scent. Opening his eyes, he looked directly into the laughing, brown eyes of one Angela Montenegro, almost sagging with relief when he realized that Angela was Brennan's guest and they were having a girl's night in, no men involved, hopefully. Ignoring her raised eyebrow and the almost rabid curiosity in her eyes, he waited for her to speak, not releasing his hold on Brennan.

"I could leave if you like, Booth," she offered with a laugh. Before Booth could give her the affirmative answer he wanted to, Brennan's head shot up and she spun around.

"No," she gasped in horror. "No, Ange. We're having a sleepover. Remember?" Angela grinned, noting her plan to get Brennan drunk was obviously working, but feeling a little bad that her presence might keep something happening with Booth. She would even put aside her curiosity and go for that possibility. Her grin widened further as she noticed Brennan was leaning back against Booth and his hands were crossed over her stomach, but Angela was the only one who seemed to notice.

"Bren, I think maybe Booth wants to have a sleepover," she began teasingly, stunned when Brennan suddenly seemed to realize where she was and jerked away from her partner and Booth shot her a thanks a lot look. Giving him an apologetic look, she turned her attention back to Brennan.

"No, Ange. Booth was just leaving," she told the still stunned artist, "you can go too, if you want," she offered, her voice sounding like a little girl who was about to have a treasure snatched right out of her hands. Angela didn't know what to do. Booth made her decision for her. It was obvious Brennan didn't want him here and he couldn't have the kind of discussion he was working up to with her while she was intoxicated. Besides, she was still mad. It would be best if he just cleared out and gave her some time to cool off.

"I'm on my way out, Ange. You should stay and have your sleepover. You girls have fun," his eyes never left Brennan's averted face as he walked out of the kitchen with Angela following him to the front door.

"Ange, did you have to pick tonight to get her drunk?" he asked plaintively. Angela felt a little bad that Brennan was being mean to him but it wasn't her fault.

"Hey, I'm not the one who pissed her off so badly this little sleepover was necessary," she informed him haughtily, noting the way he flinched at her statement. "Booth, what happened?" she was now asking as a friend, not as a bloodhound sniffing out clues of a deepening relationship between the partners. But Booth simply shook his head. The only person he was willing to have that discussion with didn't appear to be speaking to him at the moment. With a lift of his hand, he turned toward the elevator. Angela closed and locked the door behind him. Picturing the dejected set of his shoulders as he walked away, she started back to the kitchen more determined than ever to find out what the hell was going on.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi, I'm back. In appreciation of the reviews, Musie is giving you another chapter. See how well this works. LOL. Please remember to review and thanks for reading.**

**Disclaimer: Just wish they were mine.**

Walking back to the kitchen, Angela saw her best friend calmly pouring herself another Margarita and began to think that maybe getting her drunk wasn't the best idea she'd ever had. Brennan could hold her liquor with the best of them, but she knew when she was getting intoxicated and generally stopped with a mild buzz. Tonight it appeared she wanted to get shit faced and tonight was no longer about satisfying Angela's curiosity. There was something very wrong between Booth and Brennan and Angela sincerely wanted to help.

"Bren," she said softly, approaching the anthropologist slowly, "what's going on with you and Booth?" Brennan shot her an unfathomable look, then shook her head.

"Not tonight, Ange, please. This is a party, remember? Glug, glug, woo, woo," the pleading look Brennan sent her way convinced her to give in to the request.

"You're right, Sweetie," she responded with a wide grin, "bring on the chick flicks." Brennan smiled at Angela's comment, but Angela saw the confusion in her eyes and her heart ached for her dear friend. She would help her through whatever it was, she determined, but not tonight. Tonight she would show her how to be a teenager. Refilling her own drink, Angela grabbed Brennan's arm and dragged her toward the living room. "Come on. I'll even let you pick the first movie."

Three hours later, Angela lay on the floor, her hands propped on a pillow and her chin resting on her hands totally absorbed in Steel Magnolias. She heard Brennan fidgeting around on the couch behind her but didn't turn to look. She had given up even the pretense of getting drunk when she realized Brennan was drinking enough for the both of them. She was actually more than a little surprised that she hadn't passed out yet, but Brennan hadn't had a drink since the start of the movie so maybe she was sobering up. Angela doubted it, unsure how long it would take a person's body to process the amount of alcohol her best friend had consumed tonight. She only hoped Brennan wasn't so hung over tomorrow that she wasn't willing to talk to her about whatever was going on between her and Booth.

"Ange?" whispered Brennan.

"Hmm?" Angela's answered distractedly, her attention on the unfolding scene in the movie, one of her all time favorites.

"I think there's something wrong with Booth," Brennan's whispered statement captured Angela's attention. Head snapping up, she jumped up and joined her friend on the couch, grabbing her hand and squeezing so tightly that Brennan winced and tried to pull away.

"Oh my God, Bren! Is he sick again? Is the brain tumor back?" In her agitation, Angela was almost babbling and Brennan found herself patting Angela's hand to calm her down.

"No, Ange, we saw his neurosurgeon two weeks ago and there's no sign of the tumor returning." Angela calmed down considerably at this information, then looked at her friend quizzically.

"You go to his doctor's appointments with him?" Angela tried to keep her voice light. She knew the partners had been even closer after Booth's brush with death, but Wow, this was a biggie and Brennan didn't even seem to realize it.

"Of course." Brennan answered smoothly as if everyone went to their partner's doctor's appointments with them. Angela's brow rose but she didn't want to interrupt with questions in case she interrupted the flow of information she was just dying to be privy to. After several minutes, it became apparent Brennan wasn't going to say anything else and Angela sighed heavily, seeing she was going to have to dig out what she wanted to know. Not that she was adverse to the method, she was a world class nagger, but Brennan didn't always respond as expected and one had to handle her carefully.

"So, Bren, if the doctor says Booth is fine, why do you think something is wrong with him?" Angela watched in fascination as her best friend sat up on the couch, ran an agitated hand through her hair, and opened and closed her mouth several times as if she couldn't force herself to say the words. Now, Angela was squirming in her seat, so curious she barely resisted grabbing Brennan and shaking her until she just told her what the hell was going on. She, never in a million years, expected the words that Brennan finally uttered.

"Hekeepstouchingme," It took Angela a moment to process the rush of words into an understandable sentence. When she did, her jaw dropped and her eyes widened, both at the words and the images they conjured.

"Inappropriately?" she sqeaked, her voice breaking at some of the more inappropriate images in her mind.

"Yes! No. I don't know," Brennan moaned, covering her face with her hands.

_Wait. How could she not know? _ Angela was still so absorbed by the images in her head it took her several seconds to realize Brennan was waiting on her response. Shaking her head to clear it, she sadly banished the pictures from her mind and turned to her friend, studying her troubled expression before venturing a reply.

"How can you not know if the touching is inappropriate, Bren?" Angela just managed to keep the rabid curiosity under control and was proud that her voice sounded like a concerned friend. Brennan's look told her she hadn't been as successful as she thought but she got her answer so it was all good.

"He doesn't grab my ass, if that's what you're asking, Ange, but he touches me all the time now." Angel's eyes widened again. Booth had always been very touchy feely with Brennan. He was, if fact, the only person allowed to intrude on her personal space in this way, but this couldn't be the normal placing of his hand on the small of her back or slinging an arm around her shoulders for Brennan to notice and comment on it like this, especially if it upset her like this.

"Tell me about the touching," Angela almost purred, sitting back against the couch, preparing to enjoy herself and ignoring the disgruntled glance Brennan sent her way. Sinking against the opposite corner of the couch, Brennan decided she needed help figuring this out and she had already been willing to ask Angela for help but had chickened out after Booth's visit. Well, it was time to man up and figure out what the hell was going on before her partner drove her completely insane.

"What do you want to know?" she finally asked on a sigh.

"When did it start?" Angela's grin was irrepressible, but Brennan didn't notice as she thought seriously about the question.

"Right after his brain surgery," she answered readily, looking at Angela as if she should have the answer after that little bit of information. Angela laughed and Brennan sighed, understanding she was going to have to tell her best friend everything, or as much as she could bring herself to share, but found she couldn't make herself start talking. This was so personal and somewhat embarrassing, she decided she was just going to let Angela ask questions and, hopefully, avoid the embarrassing parts. Angela saw the war in Brennan's eyes and took pity on her.

"So, tell me about the touching already," she encouraged with a laugh, not even trying to hide her interest. Brennan's eyes dropped to her hands, linked in her lap and she shrugged.

"He just always seems to have his hands on me somewhere, Ange," Angela's thoughts instantly went back to Guttersville and she enjoyed the trip for several seconds before clearing her throat and getting back to business.

"Bren, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to be more specific than that if you want my help," she grinned at Brennan's look of disbelief, "Hey, I'm not that interested in your and Booth's personal life. The details are purely for academic purposes." She wasn't surprised Brennan didn't believe her as it wasn't entirely the truth but she did need details to make sense of this tale and help her friend.

"Fine," Brennan gave in and Angela happily waited for her to continue. "It's hard to explain, Ange," she said looking back at her hands as if she couldn't get the details out while facing her friend. "He's always sitting too close or rubbing my back or holding my hand like I can't walk by myself," Angela's eyebrows rose as Brennan's voice did, clearly getting into listing her partner's abnormal behavior. Brennan rose from the couch and began to pace, rubbing her forehead as she continued her tirade. "And you would not believe how many guy hugs he hands out every day now." Brennan was well into her complaints now, but Angela needed clarification on a point and didn't know if she would remember to get it later if the rest of Brennan's story was this entertaining, so she had to stop her.

"Wait, Bren. What exactly is a guy hug?" Brennan looked at her oddly but was amenable to offering an explanation.

"It's a hug that guys give each other, Ange," Angela couldn't hold back the snort of laughter even when Brennan's eyes narrowed.

"What's so funny, Ange?" she asked, the softness of her voice sending a chill down Angela's spine. Angela didn't want to get Booth in even more trouble, but it was unfair for him to use Brennan's naivety against her that way.

"Bren, Sweetie, there is no such thing as a guy hug," she informed the anthropologist.

"What? Of course, there is, Ange. Booth said guys hug each other when they're scared and that's a guy hug." Angela's raised brow sent Brennan flopping down onto the couch, deflated. "You're saying that Booth lied to me? Why, Ange? Why would he do that?" Angela could hear the hurt in Brennan's voice over the possibility and hated that she had been the one to put it there but the simple fact was Booth had lied to Brennan no matter what his motives had been and was still lying to her every time he gave her a "guy hug".

"I don't know, Bren. Knowing Booth, he didn't have a sinister purpose. Maybe he just wanted to hug you," she suggested scooting over next to her friend, bumping shoulders and wigging her eyebrows when Brennan looked at her in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. "How many times a day is he hugging you, anyway?" Brennan laughed at Angela's facial expressions then turned serious.

"A lot," she whispered. "Ange, he's making me crazy. He makes me want things I shouldn't even be thinking about." Brennan looked away and Angela knew why. This was the most honest thing she had ever said about her partnership with Booth and it was huge for her to make that admission to Angela. She had to know Angela would tell her to go for it so there had to be much more going on for her to be sharing this. Regardless, Angela was going to get her opinion in before they moved on.

"So, he's tying you up in knots?" Brennan's hand snapped up and she interrupted Angela.

"What? Of course not, Ange. Booth made his aversion role playing clear during the pony play case, so I seriously doubt he would be into domination. Besides, we don't have that kind of relationship," Angela could only roll her eyes and shake her head, Temperence Brennan had to be the only person in the world who was completely literal, even drunk as a skunk.

"Bren," she said softly, reaching out and taking her hand, "the man has been in love with you for years. All this touching, the guy hugs, everything is his way of showing you how he feels about you. He's flirting with you, Sweetie." Angela, expecting her words to bring an epiphany to her friend, was surprised when she pulled her hand away, wrapping her arms around her abdomen and shook her head, finally raising blue eyes filled with hurt and tears to her face.

"No, Ange, he's not," Angela blood chilled at the finality in Brennan's voice.

"How do you know?" she asked not really sure she wanted to know the answer but knowing it had hurt her best friend deeply.

"I asked him," Brennan whispered, dropping her eyes again, sending shivers of foreboding down Angela's spine.

"What did he say?" Angela was now whispering.

"He laughed," Brennan whispered, looking back at her friend just as a single tear escaped and fell down her cheek.

"He what?" bellowed Angela, highly offended on behalf of her best friend. _Damn him, she would have Seeley Booth's hide_, she promised herself, but first she had to take care of Brennan. Turning back to her friend, she struggled with what to say. _Men are jerks?_ Absolutely true, but not really helpful in this situation. _I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding?_ She wasn't sure of anything right now. Booth knew that Brennan was emotionally fragile and Angela had come to trust that he would never deliberately hurt her friend over the years they had been partners, but he was, apparently, just as much of a pig as other men and had done just that. So, no, that wasn't really helpful either. With a sigh, she bumped her shoulder against Brennan's and waited for her to look up.

"Want me to kick his ass for you?" Angela offered sincerely, relaxing when Brennan broke into a fit of giggles at the thought of her slender friend wiping the floor with Booth.

"No, but thanks for the offer," she sighed, pulling her knees up against her chest and wrapping her arms around them, staring morosely into space. Angela studied her friend and wondered if there was something more to the story, something Brennan had chosen not to share because try as she might, she was having trouble reconciling the caring, overprotective Booth she knew him to be toward her friend with the one who laughed at Brennan, deliberately hurting her.

"Bren, did this happen today?" No way was she repeating that Booth had laughed at his partner, not after seeing the way it had hurt Brennan to even say the words. But, something just didn't feel right about the whole situation and Angela was determined to get to the bottom of things and help her friend. If it was some kind of misunderstanding, maybe she could convince Brennan to talk things out with Booth and if he was just a pig, she would take care of it herself. Brennan nodded but continued to stare into space.

"Bren, Sweetie, look at me," Angela urged, almost flinching when big, blue eyes filled with sadness turned her way. "What happened today, Bren?" There was only concern in her voice and Brennan responded to it much more readily than she had Angela's earlier avid curiosity.

"I'm not completely certain, Ange." And she wasn't. She only knew they had gone from being best friends to Booth laughing at her and denying that she was anything but his partner in the blink of an eye. _Could she share this humiliation with Angela? Yes_, she decided, she needed to get some perspective on what had happened and Angela was her best chance to get that. She allowed her mind to drift back to earlier today and started talking.

They had been coming out of the FBI building after a meeting with Caroline Julian when one of Booth's fellow agents had stopped them. Brennan knew she had met the man before but didn't remember his name and was stunned speechless when he asked her out. She knew she had never given the man any indication that she was interested in dating him, but before she could answer, Booth had growled at the hapless agent that they had to go, giving him such a ferocious look that the other man had stepped back in surprise. Booth had then grabbed her hand and dragged her protesting form to the parking garage.

"Booth, what are you doing?" she had demanded, yanking her hand from his as they reached the SUV and he finally slowed down. She glared at him as he spun around to face her, his face a mask of fury.

"You do NOT want to go out with that guy, Bones. He's bad news where women are concerned," he practically snarled. Brennan was more than a little taken aback by his attitude. No, she wasn't interested in the other agent, but she was very interested in Booth's reaction to the invitation. If she didn't know better, she would have thought he was jealous, but as he was so fond of saying, they were just partners, or were they?

She had been thinking of her partner in some very unprofessional ways for a very long time. Those thoughts had been further complicated when feelings for him developed and turned him into the most important person in her life. She wasn't even sure when she had begun to think that she wanted that something special that Booth was always spouting off about with him and only him, but those thoughts had solidified into certainty when they discovered he had a brain tumor, especially during those four long days as she had sat beside his bed and waited for him to wake up. Since then, she had struggled every single day to keep from just blurting out how she felt. A struggle that had been made almost impossible by his physically affectionate gestures, but she had been unwilling to risk ruining what they had now just to ask him if he thought they could have a future together. _Well, maybe this was her chance to test the waters_, she decided.

"Why do you care, Booth?" she shivered at the look in his eyes as his head jerked up and he stepped closer to her, pressing her against the side of the SUV until they were touching from neck to groin, planting his hands firmly beside her head and caging her in.

"You're my partner, Bones. It's my job to look out for you." She had to fight to keep her eyes open, wanting nothing more than to throw her arms around his neck, drag his head down to her and show him how much she didn't care about dating other men, but she needed to be sure she wouldn't be ruining the best relationship in her life before she gave in to her baser urges.

"Is that all I am to you, Booth? Just your partner?" she couldn't help the husky tone of voice or the way her tongue darted out to moisten suddenly dry lips and was encouraged by the way his eyes focused on her mouth. Until he opened his mouth.

"Of course not, Bones. We're friends, too, but primarily yes, you are my partner." She had been completely unprepared for the devastation his answer to the question she had been working up her courage to ask him for months had created within her and she had instinctively fallen back on old habits, attacking him to hide her hurt.

"Are you sure, Booth? Because you're giving a very good imitation of a jealous boyfriend," she accused, seeing his eyes widen and darken as if just registering their intimate positions. She hadn't been sure what he was going to do as his hands fisted beside her head and his head lowered a few inches, before jerking back up and he spun away from her, running a hand through his hair. And then he had laughed at her for suggesting he was flirting with her and fury had taken the lead, almost but not quite cancelling out the pain and the sting of rejection she had been feeling.

"Me? Your boyfriend?" he snickered. "Haha, Bones, very funny. You almost had me there. For just a second, I thought you were serious," he had turned back to her with amusement shining in his eyes and Brennan fought the urge to throw up. She couldn't believe she had been so wrong about his actions, had probably messed up the most important relationship in her life because of she wanted so badly to believe he wanted to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him. Her rioting emotions were so close to the surface she knew if she spoke to him right now, they would spew over and it would not be pretty. Her pride stinging and her heart breaking, she turned and calmly walked away from her partner, after giving him a look that warned him not to follow. She was a little surprised at his restraint, but he hadn't followed her and she had taken a cab back to the lab, not seeing Booth again until he showed up at her door with dinner. She had, however, received six text messages from him, all containing two words, I'm sorry. She hadn't bothered to reply until he had texted asking her to dinner which she had declined less than politely.

Angela stared at her teary eyed best friend in open mouthed astonishment. She didn't know where to start. Well, she did, but she was fairly sure that assault on the person of an FBI agent would be frowned on by her superiors as well as his. _But, damn, she wanted to kick his ass. Did he have any idea what he had done?_ Brennan had practically laid her heart at his feet and he had stomped on it. _What the hell was wrong with him?_ He, more than anyone, knew how almost miserly she was with sharing her feelings, and just when she was ready to open up and declare herself he got a bad case of moronitis and ruined it. It was just so not like Booth to be that stupid where Brennan was concerned that it almost gave Angela pause in her mental tirade against the man. Almost, but not quite, until he explained himself and it had better be good, he was number one on her shit list. Seeing that Brennan was staring at her, apparently, waiting for words of wisdom, Angela cut off her silent tirade against one Seeley Booth and turned her attention back to Brennan. Putting her arm around her shoulders, she hugged her tightly.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry. Are you sure you told me everything? Maybe it was just a misunderstanding." Angela offered hopefully. Brennan snorted.

"Ange, even I couldn't misunderstand that." Angela had to agree. Based on what Brennan had told her, it was pretty cut and dried, but Angela knew in her gut that Booth was crazy about Brennan and she was never, ever wrong about these things. It just didn't make sense that he would reject her like that. There had to be something else going on that she and maybe even Brennan didn't know about.

"Bren, look, I want to kick his ass for hurting you and I can't believe I'm even saying this, but maybe you should sit down and talk it out with Booth. You know, just hash things out once and for all." The look of horror on Brennan's face told Angela there wasn't even a snowball's chance in hell that was going to happen.

"No," Brennan's voice shook with horror and her face paled at the thought of ever speaking about "the incident" as she was coming to think of it with anyone, ever again. "I just want to forget it happened," she whispered, yawning. Angela, seeing that she looked ready to finally pass out, scooted down to the other end of the couch and Brennan laid down with her head in Angela's lap, unwilling to give up the comfort of having her best friend nearby after such an awful day.

"Bren, what are you going to do?" Angela asked softly, stroking Brennan's hair soothingly.

"Nothing," Brennan replied around a yawn.

"What? Bren, you can't just pretend like it didn't happen. Surely you don't think things will just go back to normal if you just ignore it?" Even as Angela made the statement, she knew that was exactly what the naïve anthropologist thought, even before Brennan energetically nodded her head. Angela rolled her eyes, there were just certain things you couldn't undo and one of the partners bringing their real feelings toward each other out into the open was one of them. Angela was sure they would each be thinking about it even if they didn't talk about it and it would change their relationship, not necessarily for the better. "Sweetie, I don't think you can do that," Angela was trying to nudge her friend toward making the choice to confront Booth about his reaction, but, unfortunately, drunk Brennan took it as a challenge. She snorted.

"Of course I can, Ange. I'm a genius, you know, and I can do anything I set my mind to," she fervently assured her friend, sitting up to look Angela directly in the eye. "In fact, I vow not to speak to Seeley Booth about anything of a personal nature for the rest of our partnership." She grinned drunkenly at Angela and Angela had to laugh at the conviction behind the words while sincerely hoping it would be a vow Brennan would either conveniently forget or just plain not be able to keep. Brennan's head dropped back into Angela's lap and Angela resumed stroking her hair.

"Ange?" Brennan whispered around another yawn.

"Yeah, Sweetie?"

"Men are closely related to the porcine species." Angela almost doubled over in laughter as she figured out what Brennan had just said.

"Yeah, Sweetie, men are pigs," she agreed, continuing to stroke Brennan's hair. Within seconds, her friend was either deeply asleep or passed out and Angela's mind began to spin. She was still deeply shocked that Brennan had been ready to declare her feelings to Booth and stunned almost speechless by his inexplicable behavior. She had to figure out a way to fix this because she knew her best friend well enough to know it would be a cold day in hell before she took that chance again without being absolutely certain Booth felt the same way and she couldn't let the two of them mess up things between them. _They obviously needed her_ _help_, she assured herself _and she was certainly up to the challenge_.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi, guys, this one is a little short, but my internet is all screwy and I wanted to post while I had a chance. Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, they're not mine, but Christmas is coming up.**

Angela had debated long and hard about whether to wait until Monday to talk to Booth or seek him out over the weekend and have a little chat with him. She really didn't want for their conversation to be overheard at the Jeffersonian where gossip ran rampant. She didn't think her talk with Booth would be quiet and couldn't bear to be the reason her already almost despondent best friend was being gossiped about on top of everything else, so she had chosen to corral him at his own apartment, just as he returned from church. She had decided to give him the chance to make peace with his maker in case he pissed her off so much she just took him out. _No,_ she sighed sadly to herself, _she couldn't really do that but she could and would make his life a living hell unless he had some very good answers to some very hard questions._

Staking out his apartment from his parking lot, Angela waited until Booth entered his building, then exited her car wanting to catch him before he entered his apartment, giving herself the element of surprise, but making sure he would feel he had no choice but to invite her in. She silently approached him just as he slipped his key into the lock on his front door. _Perfect,_ she smiled to herself.

"Hi, Booth," she called casually when she was still several steps from his position. He turned in surprise, frowning when he saw who his visitor was. _What? He wasn't happy to see her? Well, that was just too damn bad, because she wasn't altogether thrilled with the need to be here but one did what one had to, especially when one's brilliantly naïve best friend was concerned_. She had to figure out how to fix things that the moron standing before her had so causally broken and he had to give her a damn good explanation about why he had laughed at Bren or prepare himself for a very lonely, very miserable life.

"Angela, what are you doing here?" his eyes darted behind her obviously searching for signs that Brennan was with her. He looked so lost when he realized that she was alone that Angela felt her soft heart melt a little. Picturing her best friend's teary eyes as she recounted what had so upset her hardened that heart right back into ice. _She would not feel sorry for Seeley Booth_, she told herself firmly, _she might take him apart, but she would not feel sorry for him_.

"Can I come in, Booth?" she asked with a smile, sidestepping his question. He didn't want her to come in but his good manners won out as she had known they would and he gestured her forward with a sigh. _Men were so easy, they were almost pathetic. _Walking into his apartment, she looked around in interest, seeing pretty much what she expected for an unattached bachelor's apartment. Any other time, she might have snooped. _Oh, who was she kidding? Of course, she would have snooped but today she had much more important things on her mind_. Turning, she saw Booth had closed the door but stood propped against it, eying her warily.

"What do you want, Angela?" _Maybe, he wasn't such a moron after all._

"It's about Bren, Booth," she had just decided to lay things out for him so they could both salvage part of their day, but found her upper arms gripped tightly and his anxious face starting down at her before she could even blink.

"What about Bones, Angela? Is she ok?" he demanded, his voice ripe with anxiety, his eyes brimming with concern. This was not the face of a man who laughed at the woman he loved when she declared her feelings for him. _What the hell was going on?_ When she didn't answer him fast enough, Booth shook her. Glaring at him, she extricated herself from his grip.

"She's fine, Booth." _Or as fine as someone who avoided personal entanglements like the plague could be after the man she loved laughed at her when she told him how she felt._ Angela felt her ire boiling to the surface just as Booth sagged into a chair in relief. Unable to stop herself, she strode over to him, giving him a good smack to the side of the head.

"Hey," he yelled, looking up and dodging the next blow which caught him on the shoulder, "what the hell are you doing?" The question just made her madder.

"_Me? What am I doing_?" she yelled, continuing to deliver sharp, open handed slaps until he jumped out of the chair and looked like he was thinking about subduing her. She'd like to see him try. "_What the hell were you thinking, Seeley Booth? How could you laugh at her like that?_" she screamed in his face as both hands landed against his chest, hard.

Until that moment, Angela had retained a faint hope that Brennan had misunderstood the situation, that Booth could explain and things would be all fine and dandy. The way he didn't even try to avoid the last blows and the look on his face told her everything she needed to know. _Oh, God, he had really laughed at Brennan_, Angela realized with a near sob. Knowing full well how emotionally stunted and fragile Brennan was, he, her supposed protector and actual best friend had done that to her. No longer caring to hear anything he had to say, Angela headed toward the front door.

"It wasn't like that, Angela," he said softly. She had thought her anger was expended but she was wrong, she realized as the red haze of rage settled over her just as she swung to face him.

"Then what was it like, Booth? Because that's exactly what it looked like to Bren."

"I won't talk to you about this, Angela. Bones and I will work it out," almost hysterical laughter burst from Angela. _Could he really be that clueless?_ Well, allow her to fill him in on the new Temperence Brennan.

"Yeah, Booth, I'd wish you luck on that but you don't have a chance. This isn't something a little teasing and charm is going to fix. You didn't hurt her feelings, Booth. You hurt her heart and she doesn't just get over that," Ignoring the look of pain and misery on Booth's face, Angela gave her fury free reign. "When you became Bren's partner, she began to change for the better and we _all_ trusted you to take care of her. But, you made her cry, Booth, and you broke her heart." Giving him the only advice she could manage while she was this angry, she continued, "You better figure out how important she is to you, Booth, and fix this fast or she'll just close up on you and you'll never get another chance." Finished with this conversation and him, she had one more thing to say, something that conveyed her current feelings concisely, "By the way, Booth, congratulations on being the best partner, _EVER!_" The door slammed behind her, leaving a very dejected Seeley Booth staring at it wondering how in the hell he had managed to screw things up so royally.

Dropping his head into his hands, Booth scrubbed his hands over his face. _God, how had things gone from so good to so bad so quickly? _ He laughed sarcastically at his own question. He knew exactly how things had gotten where they were. Him. It was all him. Ever since he had awoken from the coma dream after his surgery, he had been struggling with his feelings for his partner. He had already loved her with every fiber of his being before the whole tumor thing but that dream had convinced him of how good, how perfect they would be together and he fought every damn day to keep from telling her so because she wasn't ready to hear it. And in fighting to keep his feelings hidden, he was doing a pretty damn good imitation of someone who didn't care about the most important person in his life.

He hadn't even had the guts to tell her about the dream and how real it had been to him. How it had made him feel to wake up and find out he had lost all of that, everything that he had ever wanted was just gone when he opened his eyes and it ripped out his heart every time he thought about it. So, he had carried on as usual. At least, he had tried, but nothing was usual or normal anymore, not where she was concerned. Some of the changes had been so subtle he had barely even noticed and some were so glaringly obvious, he kept waiting for her to confront him about them, but she never did.

They spent all their free time together. He drove her to work and picked her up, taking her home and having dinner out or at her place. They usually worked on a case or watched TV with him only leaving around midnight or spending the night on her couch. He would be willing to bet Angela didn't know about that. And those nights on her couch were pure torture, knowing she was only down a short hallway, all warm and sleepy and in a bed kept him tossing and turning all night, but he wouldn't have given them up for anything.

And the touching. _God, the touching was driving him insane. _ He couldn't seem to keep his hands off of her, whether it was brushing the hair from her cheek, snuggling up with a movie or anything in between, he couldn't make himself stop touching her and it wasn't all him either. Her hands had started to do some wandering of their own. She would step right into his personal space and brush down the lapels of his jacket or straighten his tie, making sure to graze the back of his neck with her fingernails or smooth her hands over the entire surface of his chest in the process. She would step back with a smile of accomplishment on those luscious lips leaving him hard and hot and fighting the urge to drag her off somewhere and make her as hot as he was.

He found himself wanting to drag her off to bed constantly, not that he hadn't wanted to do that before the brain tumor, but now he felt like it was his right, that she belonged to him. In fact, that feeling is what had gotten him into this mess in the first place. They had been leaving the FBI building after a meeting with Carolyn Julian, laughing and joking when that jackass Layton had stopped them, practically accosting his Bones and asking her out right in front of him. Booth had completely lost it, seeing everything through the haze of possessive jealousy. He had wanted to punch Layton, but settled for growling at him and dragged Brennan out of the man's presence. Before he could get himself under control, she had demanded to know what he was doing. Unable to tell her the truth, that he was protecting his property from infringement (she would have kicked his ass for sure if he had come out with that one), he had practically forbidden her to go out with the other agent.

She had hit him right in the heart with her next question. _Why did he care? Because she was his, dammit. She belonged to him and only him. Not to mention that he loved her more than life itself,_ but he couldn't tell her that so he fell back on the old partner standby, not even realizing he had her pinned against the SUV in his agitation. He had looked down at her face and his entire attention became focused on the tip of her tongue snaking out to run slowly over her top and then bottom lip. He was so focused on the sight and what it made him want to do to her, he barely heard her next question and paid no attention whatsoever to his response, but it was apparently not what she wanted to hear because the next thing he remembered, he had been leaning down, unable to resist stealing a taste of those glistening lips when she accused him of acting like a jealous boyfriend.

He jerked back, stunned, thinking for just an instant that she had figured out how he felt about her. One look at her face had rid him of that delusion. Spinning away from her, he felt laughter bubbling to the surface. _Hell no, he wasn't acting like a jealous boyfriend. He was acting like a jealous husband_, but he could hardly tell her that so he had turned it into a stupid joke. He had known as soon as he turned around that he had screwed up, badly. He hadn't known until Angela had told him that Brennan thought he had been laughing at her. He hadn't been, he had been laughing at his own cowardice, his own inability to just say the words, tell her he loved her and see what happened. But he was too afraid of losing what they had now to risk it so he was stuck.

He had known she was hurt and angry, just not exactly why when she stalked off. But by the look she gave him, he knew that if he followed her then he would just make things worse, so he had texted that he was sorry. He hadn't received a response until he had asked her to dinner. Her have plans answer let him know she was still upset, but he had honestly thought she was just blowing him off because of it. He had picked up dinner and gone to her place, ready to explain (not quite everything, but enough to cajole her out of her temper), and grovel if necessary.

Thinking she had another man in her shower had been bad, but when she had told him she was having a sleepover with some faceless man, it had been a revelation to Booth. It opened up a whole new level of jealousy and possessiveness in comparison to her getting asked out in front of him and he knew then that he would never survive it if he walked into that situation. He decided right then and there to tell her everything including how he felt about her. She cared about him and they could build on that. She had been all snuggled up to him and he had been feeling pretty damn good about the possibilities of the night, then he had to find out that she was wasted and having a girl's night with Angela, which was much better than the alternative, but still he had wanted to hit something. But he had left her apartment, deciding to give her the weekend to recover from her sleepover and set things straight between them on Monday.

Judging from Angela's little tirade, that might not be quite as easy as he had hoped. But, come on, this was Bones. They were best friends and they loved each other as friends and partners. They liked, trusted and relied on each other. He could not, would not lose her from his life. He would figure out a way to make her forgive him. How hard could it be?


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, guys. I currently hate my internet and am posting and answering reviews with sporadic service. So, please bear with me. I hope you like the chapter and you know how this works, so thanks for the reviews in advance.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Monday

It was barely 10 am and this was not shaping up to be one of Booth's best days ever. In fact, if things went as well the rest of the day as they had so far, he would be able to list this one right up there with getting tortured. His first hint that this might not turn out to be the day he was hoping for was arriving at Brennan's apartment at 7am on the dot just as she liked with her favorite coffee and pecan muffins as a peace offering. After pounding on her door for several minutes, he had gotten worried and used his key to let himself in, thinking she had overslept. She hadn't, she simply wasn't there. She had driven herself to work, he discovered after checking her parking spot. _What the hell?_ She hadn't driven herself anywhere for months, well not since he had been cleared to drive again after his surgery.

His next genius move had been to stop by the Jeffersonian to drop off her coffee and breakfast. _Ok, already, the coffee had only been an excuse_. His real mission had been to assess her state of mind this morning and hopefully have a private chat, putting things right between them. He laughed at his own naiveté. Angela had spotted him the second he entered the lab and he had known then that things weren't going to go well.

Angela never, ever showed up before 8:30 unless commanded or unless she felt Brennan needed moral support or protection. Booth was glad she was such a good friend to his Bones but more than a little hurt that she thought Brennan needed protection from him. Until he remembered what Brennan and Angela thought he had done, then it was somewhat more understandable. Angela had glared at him all the way across the floor but hadn't tried to intercept him as he made his way to Brennan's office. He understood why when he scanned the empty office. Setting the coffee and muffins on her desk, he debated his options. With a sigh, he decided his only real option was standing on the platform glaring at him. Ambling out to the platform, he eyed the artist warily, wondering if she was going to hit him again.

"Where is she, Angela?" he asked softly. Crossing her arms over her chest, she gave him a Wouldn't you like to know? smirk. _Well, yeah, he wanted to know or he wouldn't have asked. _ "Come on, Angela. Just tell me where she is. I need to talk to her. Please." He finally added when he got no response. Eyes narrowing, she considered him assessingly, unmoved by the almost pleading expression in his eyes.

"Do you really think coffee and pecan muffins are going to fix this, Booth?" Booth started at her accurate guess of what was in the bag he had delivered to Brennan's office and she rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, please, you always bring her pecan muffins when you two have a spat. Is that what you think this is, Booth? A spat?" Angela's look clearly told him she had grave doubts about his intelligence if that was the case. Booth could see she wasn't going to tell him anything until he answered her so he gave in a little less than gracefully.

"No, Angela. I know this is more than a spat as you so charmingly put it. Now, if you would be kind enough to tell me where she is, I can talk to her and we can get this straightened out." Her eyes narrowed into slits at his sarcastic tone then widened at his last words to give him a pitying look.

"Sure, Booth. She's in Limbo so why don't you just run on down there, turn on the charm and tell her she looks nice today. A few pretty words, coffee and muffins and, hey, I'm sure you'll have her eating out of your hand in no time flat." Her tone indicated that she no longer had doubts about his intelligence, she was certain he was stupid. Booth chose to ignore the, "She'll just love that, her being a blonde bimbo and all," Angela muttered under her breath. Seeing that he wasn't going to make any headway with Angela at present and being anxious to talk to Brennan, he didn't waste his breath, turning on his heel and heading to Limbo.

He stopped in the doorway of Limbo and there she was, Dr. Temperence Brennan, forensic anthropologist doing what she did best. She was bent over one of the stainless steel tables closely examining the remains that had been carefully laid out there. With a soft smile, he started forward but was distracted from his mission when she leaned even further across the table, pulling the lab coat tightly across her rear end and giving him a view that made his mouth water and his hands clench in his pockets. Regretfully pulling his eyes away from her rear, he ambled into the room.

"Goodmorning, Bones," he greeted cheerfully, pasting a smile on his face to hide his nervousness. He needn't have bothered. She never even glanced up.

"Do we have a case, Booth?" she asked without interest. His eyes narrowed. So far, this could be going better. He hadn't expected her to greet him with hugs but he had expected her to look at him.

"No, Bones, we don't have a case," he answered while his mind was trying to sort out the best approach to get her to set down and talk to him.

"Then why are you here?" _Ouch, that stung_. Moving closer, he leaned against the table. That got her attention, as he had known it would, but she didn't even bother to scold him about getting too close to the remains, she just moved away.

"I brought you coffee and muffins and I thought we could talk." He couldn't miss how she stiffened at the suggestion they talk, deciding not to bring up the driving herself to work issue just yet.

"I'm busy, Booth. I don't have time to talk right now." Her voice was so neutral that it told him nothing.

"Bones, we need to talk about what happened Friday," he said softly, reaching out to brush a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. She stiffened, let out a sigh then turned to face him.

"There's nothing to talk about, Booth. Nothing happened on Friday other than us having a difference of opinion." Never once looking him in the eye, _she had then dismissed him from her presence as if he was some casual acquaintance of whom she wasn't particularly fond. _He couldn't believe how much it hurt to have her look at him like that. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." She turned back to her examination of the skeleton. "I'll see you when we get a case," she added as an afterthought.

Booth's temper shot through the roof at her casual dismissal. She thought she could just avoid the issue or just shut him out and he would let her? _Oh, hell no, not this time_. He usually let her get away with murder and followed her lead on the emotional stuff, but not this time. He couldn't bear the thought of her being hurt or angry because of a misunderstanding between them and he was tired of being a coward and hiding his feelings from her. This time she was going to listen to what he had to say if he had to tie her to a chair and then they were going to talk about where things between them were going whether she liked it or not.

He had come in here prepared to explain, even grovel if necessary then just back off and let things continue as they were, but this wasn't his Bones. This was his Bones reverting back to the same woman she had been when they had first met and his gut told him that if he didn't do something drastic, that conversion would continue and she would push him out of her life, just as Angela had said. And that scared the crap out of him. He could not, would not let that happen. Just as he reached for her arm to drag her off to her office, Cam bustled into the room, looking very busy and just a little anxious.

"They're ready for you, Dr. Brennan." Brennan nodded, stripped her gloves off and turned to leave the room. Booth grabbed her arm. She stiffened but didn't try to pull away. She also didn't look at him, but Cam gave them a very interested look complete with raised brow.

"We need to talk, Bones. This is important and you know it," Booth said softly to Brennan then turned to Cam, ignoring her interest in the scene in front of her. "Cam, can't whatever this is wait?"

"No, Booth, it can't wait," Brennan snapped, pulling her arm free. "People all over the world are desirous of my time and expertise, they actually value my words." Booth bristled at the implication that he didn't value her words. He valued everything about her but could see how she might think differently. Avoiding Booth's stare, she spared a glance at Cam. "I'm on my way, Cam," and then she was gone leaving both Cam and Booth staring after her retreating form as she stalked away. Booth couldn't stop the grin tugging at the corner of his lips, his heart lightening at Brennan's little display of temper. Pissed off Bones he could deal with. It was that cold, uncommunicative, reserved woman that he wasn't sure about. He wiped the smile from his face when he turned back to see Cam glaring at him with both hands on her hips.

"What did you do, Seeley?" she asked quietly.

"What makes you think I did something, Camille?" he challenged. Rolling her eyes, she decided she didn't have time to play games with him. They had VIP's in house today and she had important matters to attend to. She also absolutely could not afford to have Dr. Brennan upset as she was the main attraction to the VIPs whom the board expected to come forth with some impressive funding for this very department. Therefore, the first order of business was to send the agitator on his way.

"It doesn't matter right now, Booth. Brennan will be tied up all morning so you should just go." Seeing the stubborn look cross his face, she grabbed his arm and started dragging him toward the door. _God, they didn't pay her enough to referee these two. _ "Look, Booth, I'll tell her to call you when she's finished so you can rush back over here and make up. Ok?" There was no malice or even sarcasm in her voice, just simple statement of fact. Booth eyed her suspiciously, finally nodding his agreement.

"Fine, Cam, but you call me the moment she's free." Cam nodded, understanding he didn't think Brennan would call him if instructed to do so. Watching him walk away, she could only roll her eyes, wondering why he didn't just tell the prickly doctor he was madly in love with her and put everyone out of their misery. Sighing, she turned to join Brennan's group and make sure the outspoken anthropologist didn't insult their funding right out the front door.

Booth made his way across the lab floor deep in thought, startled when Angela suddenly materialized in front of him.

"So, Booth, everything all better now?" she asked sarcastically. He just kept walking with her falling into step beside him.

"Not yet, Ange, but it will be," she snorted at his confident answer, but he didn't let that bother him. Stopping, he looked at her levelly, "I will fix this, Angela. She's too important to me not to," he told her earnestly. After searching his face and finding only sincerity, she relaxed slightly, nodding.

"Good." Taking a few steps toward her office, she turned back to him, "I sure hope you've got something better than coffee and muffins in the works, cause that is really lame." Twirling, she headed for her office, feeling much better about things. She had by no means forgiven Booth for hurting her best friend, but she could see he badly wanted to make things right and he was the only person in the world who stood a chance of doing that. She just hoped he did it fast.

She had talked to Brennan this morning and the anthropologist was determined to just ignore what had happened and abide by her vow to discuss nothing personal with her partner ever again, sure that these small changes wouldn't change anything else in the relationship. It was laughable but Angela couldn't convince her that things already had changed. Angela could see she was slowly withdrawing back into the shell that had shielded her heart from pain for so long and if Booth didn't get through to her before that shell was back in place then no one or nothing would ever touch Brennan's heart again.

Booth left the Jeffersonian and headed for his office pondering Angela's words. He knew she was still peeved with him but she would never do anything to hurt her best friend so he took her advice into consideration. It was now obvious to him that they couldn't have their little talk at work, they didn't have a case so he couldn't get her alone in the SUV and he doubted she would be happy to see him show up at her place with dinner so this bore some thinking about.

Thirty minutes later, he sat back at his desk with a smile of satisfaction. He had eight o'clock reservations at one of Brennan's favorite Italian restaurants. Even though he hadn't technically asked her to dinner yet, he would take care of that when Cam called him to let him know Brennan was free. If she declined, he would just show up and whisk her off he decided. He would feed her and maybe even broach the subject she was so determined to avoid at dinner. Not that she was any less likely to yell at him or walk away at a restaurant because the place didn't seem to matter when she was riled, but maybe they could hash this thing out at dinner and move on to their relationship for dessert.

Booth shifted uncomfortably in his seat as images of her being dessert floated through his mind. With a sigh, he sadly let go of the images. He knew it wouldn't be that easy, it never was with her, but it was always worth it. And if this didn't work, he would think of something else, refusing to let go of his hope that tonight would at least put him on the right track to putting things right with the most important woman in his life. With a sigh, he pushed personal matters aside and reached for one of the multitudes of files on his desk.

Raising his head several hours later, he realized he had lost track of time and quickly check his watch. It was 2:00pm. _Shit, he had missed lunch and Cam should have called him hours ago._ Reaching for his phone, he noticed he had some new emails and turned to the computer to check on them noticing that one of the emails was from Cam before he could finish punching her number on his phone. Laying his phone down, he opened the email. It was an official communication from the Jeffersonian to the FBI and it read as follows:

To Whom It May Concern:

Please consider this official notification that Dr. Temperence Brennan will be temporarily unavailable to act in the capacity of consulting forensic anthropologist for the FBI. In her absence, all FBI cases requiring Jeffersonian involvement will be handled by Dr. Brennan's very able assistants. We do not expect this change to, in any way, impact the relationship the Jeffersonian currently enjoys with the FBI.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Dr. Camille Saroyan

Booth was out of his chair and headed out the door before he finished reading.

Brennan looked up from her desk as a furious Seeley Booth stormed into her office_. Damn, she had told Cam not to send out that notification until after she had left. She really didn't need this right now._ She had spent the last two days thinking about her partner. After what had happened Friday, she kept waiting for the need to run, to just leave the person and place causing her pain to kick in but it never had. In fact, the thought of leaving and not seeing Booth on a regular basis made her want to throw up and caused her a great deal of emotional pain so that was out. She then fell back on her logic. Things had been good between them until she had messed everything up on Friday and right now she wanted nothing more than for things to just be like they were.

Refusing to believe Angela's assertion that things had already changed, she had decided she would just ignore "the incident" as she had labeled it in her mind and everything would be fine. She just needed to distance herself from her partner a little, keep things purely professional then she would be able to get these feelings that she didn't fully understand and were, frankly, beginning to exhaust her under control. That was the sensible, logical thing to do and it would work, she assured herself.

She had even believed it until Booth had walked into Limbo and she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. She was terrified she would see amusement or worse pity that he didn't return her affection there so she fell back on what had always gotten her through awkward situations before, not even realizing he had taken it as a dismissal. She had fought the urge to throw herself into his arms and sob out her hurt when he had tucked the hair behind her ear, but absolutely panicked when he insisted they talk. She just could not listen to him tell her in his kind way that he cared about her as a partner but not as anything else. She was all about the truth but she thought hearing that coming from him might literally kill her.

She was just now coming to realize how much she had misunderstood many of his words over the years of their partnership, that everything happens eventually, the difference between crappy sex and making love, that there was someone special for her right in front of her eyes. She had come to believe with all her heart that he was working up to them being together, but he had only been being his kind, caring self trying to make a friend feel better and she felt like an idiot. She didn't know how to make the feelings go away, but she had thought she at least had them under some semblance of control until she had snapped at Booth about other people valuing her words. She cringed at even that reminder of "the incident". So, she had hurried off to talk to Cam's PIVs, whatever that was.

She generally avoided socialization with donors like the plague but she would have thrown herself under a bus to avoid the conversation Booth seemed determined to have. At least there were a couple of scientists in the group and she hadn't been completely out of her element. She had been very pleasantly surprised when Dr. Goodman had joined them on a tour of the lab. She was actually quite fond of Dr. Goodman and they didn't see much of him around the lab lately.

Her pleasant feelings toward him had faded fast when he had asked for a moment of her time and proceeded to tell her that her presence had been requested at a scientific symposium sponsored by the very donors in their lab today. She had laughed in his face. He had said please and she had laughed harder telling him quite adamantly she wouldn't be treated like something a child would display at show and tell. Having known her for years, he had no trouble interpreting that she objected to being on display. He had a deep affection for Dr. Brennan and her team, and personally agreed with her objections but he was, at heart, an administrator and his institution needed that donation so he had played hard ball.

He informed her that the group present today was prepared to make a $14 million dollar donation immediately with another $30 million promised over the next two years, all earmarked for her lab but it was contingent on her attending this symposium. She was impressed and a little excited over what the lab could do with the donation but was still not willing to sell herself for it.

It wasn't her job to secure funding, she informed Goodman, it was his. He agreed, but calmly told her that in the current economic times, this donation was a godsend and then he went in for the kill, informing her that if they didn't receive the money, her ancillary staff would be cut by 20% and even Cam, Hodgins or Angela might be replaced as their jobs could adequately be done by someone who would require a much lower salary. Gasping, she had jumped to her feet, accusing him of blackmail. He had calmly told her he was just giving her all the relevant information to base her decision on and the decision would, of course, be hers. After several minutes of glaring at him in outrage, she made her choice. It appeared she would be attending a symposium.

She was tired, hungry, had a headache and was so pissed off at Goodman that she just didn't have the energy to be angry with Booth, or to deal with his theatrics, so she simply blinked up at him when he stormed into her office.

"Where the hell are you going?" he demanded, planting himself in front of her desk, one hand on his hip the other running through his hair.

"To a symposium," she spat in disgust. Booth paused, noting that she no longer seemed to be angry with him but did appear to be rather dejected which wasn't something he was used to seeing from her. Walking around the desk, he tilted her head up with no resistance.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked softly.

"Dr. Goodman is forcing me to prostitute myself for a donation," she informed him seriously. Booth almost choked on his own tongue, sure he had misunderstood her.

"What?" he demanded but acknowledged that it sounded just as bad when she repeated it. He was certain she couldn't be serious, but Brennan wasn't really known for her sense of humor. "Bones, I'm sure that Dr. Goodman would never ask you to prostitute yourself for any reason," he started only to be interrupted by her snort of derision at his naiveté.

"He didn't just ask, Booth, he blackmailed me into doing it," she insisted.

"What? Goodman blackmailed you into having sex with someone for a donation?" Booth wasn't sure what part of that he found most offensive. Only on behalf of his partner, mind you, but he was instantly ready to kill Goodman and whoever else was involved.

"What? Who said anything about sex?" she demanded and he was more confused than ever but he was too upset at her implication to be embarrassed about discussing sex with her.

"You did, Bones," he insisted, "the word prostitute implies sex is involved," he insisted.

"No, it doesn't, Booth. Another definition of a prostitute is somebody who uses a skill or ability in a way that is considered unworthy, usually for financial gain. I looked it up." _Of course she had_, he thought, leaning down until his chin was almost resting on her shoulder, following her pointing finger to the computer screen where he read the exact definition she had just given him. Taking several extra seconds to inhale the vanilla scent that she used in her bath and hair products and he loved, he reluctantly straightened.

"So tell him no," he suggested as if she hadn't thought of that and she shot him a look that said he was an idiot. Laughing, he leaned against her desk, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That's where the blackmail comes in handy, Booth. It limits my ability to refuse the request," he laughed again at her irritation and sarcasm and she had to turn away to hide her twitching lips from his all seeing gaze.

"So what does he want you to do?" he asked softly.

"Go to a symposium," she sighed, sinking back against her chair, her big, blue eyes blinking up at him. He couldn't stop himself from reaching out and stroking her cheek, encouraged when she didn't pull away.

"So, how much did he get for you?" he teased. Stiffening, she slapped his hand away in irritation and glared up at him.

"Not funny, Booth," she snapped.

"Oh, come on, Bones, it is a little funny," he cajoled with a charm smile. "Gonna tell me how much, now?" he asked, turning to go sit down so she couldn't hit him again while he teased her, just as both her hands came up to push him away from her desk. Both of her hands landed firmly on his butt and they both froze. Brennan knew she should pull her hands away rather than press them more deeply into the firm flesh they rested upon. Her brain was even screaming let go. Her hands just weren't listening. They were too busy feeling him up.

Booth's jaw clenched and his eyes closed at the whisper soft feel of her hands skimming over his ass, unable to move or tell her to stop, even though his body was already having an embarrassing reaction to the caress.

"Should I come back later?" Cam asked hesitantly from the doorway, noting that Booth was standing there with his eyes closed, looking like he was in pain and Brennan was totally blocked by his big body. They were probably still fighting, she decided. Booth's eyes snapped open and he stepped forward just as Brennan jerked her hands back so quickly that her chair almost toppled over backward. Booth quickly walked around the desk and took a seat.

"No, Cam, it's fine. Can I help you with something?" Brennan asked calmly, but Booth noticed that her cheeks were very flushed. _Interesting, but then again, it felt as if his whole body was a bit more than flushed._

"I just wanted you to know that I was completely unaware of this whole symposium thing and I'm sorry you got blindsided like that," Cam offered sincerely. Brennan nodded. She was not at all happy about this, but it wasn't Cam's fault. "I also know about the possible staffing cuts and everyone will be really grateful that you're willing to do this to save jobs. Fourteen million dollars will mean a lot to this department." Cam knew she was rambling a little, but she had one more thing to say and she said it simply, "Thank you, Dr. Brennan." Brennan smiled a little sickly at the praise and Cam turned to go.

"$14 million?" Booth whistled, "Wow, Bones, that has to make you the highest paid prostitute in the world." Cam slowed, shocked at Booth's words and the amusement behind them but decided she didn't want to know when she heard Brennan's gasp of outrage, followed by a thump and a muffled oomph. Shaking her head, she left the room.

"That wasn't nice, Bones," Booth chided, picking up the stapler she had hit him in the chest with and placing it back on her desk, but well out of her reach. When she didn't argue with him, he decided to do his thing which meant interrogate and investigate, essentially find out where she was going and with whom, so he could check them out. "Where is this conference?" Not bothering to correct him that it was a symposium, she looked even more morose.

"Bali," she said as if she was being consigned to the depths of hell instead of a tropical paradise. Booth didn't even try to hide his grin, but her expression didn't lighten.

"I'm serious, Booth," she almost whined, "it will be a ridiculous excuse of a scientific symposium, but all anyone will be interested in is getting drunk and getting laid," she said bluntly and his eyes widened at her knowing smirk.

"So you've been to this kind of thing before?" he asked after clearing his throat.

"A few times," the grin she gave him made him feel the need to loosen his suddenly tight collar. "They just want me there to give the whole thing the appearance of validity." Suddenly Booth didn't find any of this funny as he thought of all the surfer types running around on the beaches, any one of whom would be a fool if they didn't try their luck with his beautiful partner.

"How long will you be gone?" he knew overnight was too much to hope for but was totally unprepared for her answer.

"A week," she groaned. _Well, that was just unacceptable_, Booth decided, his mind whirling for a solution. Struck by the glimmer of an idea, he jumped to his feet and headed for the door. Turning back only a few steps from her desk, he held her eyes.

"Have dinner with me tonight?" he requested softly, but she shook her head.

"I can't. My plane leaves tonight and I still have to pack." She sounded a little regretful. With a smile, Booth gave her a little wave and headed out to find Cam and put his plan into action.

It only took Booth a few minutes to track Cam to her office. Looking up from her desk, she motioned him in with a smile.

"What can I do for you, Booth?" she inquired politely.

"Cam, don't you think it's a little strange that these people are so insistent on just Bones attending their little conference as the only Jeffersonian representative?" Yes, actually Cam's suspicious nature had given her a few qualms about that, but Hodgins assured her that these people were new money, which meant it only went back less than three generations and they liked to throw it around with things like world renowned forensic anthropologists and bestselling authors being the star attraction at their conference which had most likely been arranged with just that in mind. Nodding, Cam studied Booth thoughtfully, not really surprised he was asking questions but sensing he had a definite purpose in being here.

"Let's just cut the crap, Booth. What's your point?" Booth grinned at Cam's straightforward manner.

"Fine, Cam. I don't think she should go alone." Cam nodded. She completely agreed, but Dr. Goodman had shot down her objections. Beyond the whole safety issue, Cam cringed when she thought of how many people Brennan could unwittingly insult or alienate in an entire week.

"I agree, but no one else from the Jeffersonian had been invited."

"I don't work for the Jeffersonian," Booth prodded with a smile which Cam immediately returned, liking this idea very much. "Besides, if Bones is the star attraction, they can hardly object to her FBI partner going along to keep an eye on her." Cam nodded, knowing Goodman couldn't object to Booth going.

"I thought you two were fighting. Are you sure _she _won't object?"

"I'm sure, Cam. So, we're set?" She nodded as he rose to his feet. "Can you get me flight information so I can book a seat on the same flight while I talk to Cullen?" Booth requested with a charm smile.

"No need. They're sending a private plane for her. Here's the information," she handed him a piece of paper with flight numbers and departure times noted. "And Booth, leave Cullen to me. I think I can get this as paid time," she offered. "Plus, you need time to pack."

"Thanks, Cam." He had one more person to talk to here before calling Cullen and heading home. He found Angela in her office.

"Ange, I need a favor," he told her cheerfully. A raised brow was his only response. "Come on, Ange, you told me to come up with something better than coffee and muffins and I did, but I need your help now." Ah, he had her now as she leaned forward, curiosity shining in her eyes.

"What did you come up with?" she asked a little suspiciously.

"Bali. Better?" A slow grin almost split her face in two.

"It'll do. What do you need me to do?"

"Help Bones pack, if you know what I mean." This one earned him full throated laughter and a sly wink. Yeah, she knew what he meant and she could handle that. Turning to head out of her office, he was stopped by her voice.

"Booth, if you hurt her again…," he broke into her threat.

"Yeah, yeah, you'll hunt me down and kill me," he supplied, but she rolled her eyes.

"No, but I will tell Max that you broke her heart twice and if he doesn't take care of it, I'll tell my dad. He really likes Bren." Her eyes said she meant every word and Booth had no desire to have either vengeful father after him. He had no intention of ever hurting her again. Nodding, he accepted Angela's terms, then headed out of the lab. He had a lot to do this afternoon. He was going to Bali tonight with the woman of his dreams and if he was very, very lucky, they would operate by the same motto as Vegas. Well, maybe not exactly the same motto because if something happened in Bali, he fully intended for it to continue forever.


	7. Chapter 7

**Finally, I have internet service again. Yah for me! I hope you guys like the chapter and please remember to review. Musie is having withdrawals and needs some reviews. BTW, I accidentally left out the first part of chapter 2. It will make much more sense if you go back and read it after I reposted. Sorry.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth knew he was taking the risk of pissing Bones off and being given his marching papers by just showing up at the airport ready to travel, but Cullen had needed him to come into the office for a little chat and he had barely gotten packed and was now rushing to the airport and he was cutting it close. He had considered calling and informing her that he would be going with her but their situation was a little too delicate for that right now. Besides, she would probably just tell him she didn't need a babysitter at a conference and order him to stay behind and he wasn't about to take that chance.

Apparently Cam had shared her concerns about Brennan's safety with Cullen and the man was beside himself when Booth reached his office, telling Booth that Dr. Brennan was a valuable asset to their agency whom they could not afford to lose. He had not only ordered Booth to accompany her to this symposium, he had insisted the younger man not let her out of his sight for any reason, that he stick to her like glue and if anything happened to the good doctor, he made it plain he would hold Booth personally accountable. Booth wasn't sure what Cam had told Cullen to get him in such a state and he was grateful for the time away with his Bones but, sheesh, maybe she should lighten up next time before she gave the old guy a heart attack.

Taking the turn for the airport, he felt his spirits rise. A week with the woman of his dreams on a tropical island. _What more could a man ask for?_ He was in such a good mood, he didn't even check his caller ID before answering his phone.

"Booth," he answered cheerfully sure nothing could spoil his good mood. He was wrong.

"Slow down, Angela. I can't understand a word you're saying. That's it, take a deep breath and start over but slowly this time. Is Bones ok?" _Thank God,_ _Brennan was fine but he had no idea what Angela was ranting about._ The fourth time she mentioned Hodgins, Booth asked her to put him on speakerphone and get the bug man. Hopefully he would make more sense than the agitated artist.

"Yo, Booth, I'm here," Hodgins answered seconds later telling Booth he had already been in the room when Angela was having her little meltdown.

"Hodgins, this better be good," Booth growled in his most threatening tone.

"I don't know about good, Booth, but we think it's important," the bug man was completely unintimidated, his attitude and tone telling Booth this was indeed important, at least in Hodgins' estimation.

"Ok, then, what's up?" Booth pulled into a parking space and exited his vehicle. Grabbing his luggage and locking the car, he started for the concourse eager to see Brennan.

"You're not going to like this, Booth," Cam warned before Hodgins could answer. Booth smiled to himself. Nothing could ruin his good mood but something coming up that kept him in DC while Brennan went to Bali.

"Please don't tell me that I need to stay in DC for some reason," he almost groaned, somewhat startled when three voice shouted "No" simultaneously.

"Ok, then people, do you think you could get to the point of this call sometime today? I have a plane to catch, you know," his cheerful tone took the sting out of the words. Frowning in confusion, he listened to what appeared to be a whispered argument between the three people on the other end of the line about who should tell him whatever the hell they had decided he needed to know.

"Cam, do you have something to tell me?" Booth asked just to get the ball rolling, eager to get off the phone and find Brennan.

"Yes, but Hodgins should go first," Cam answered calmly. After several seconds of silence, Booth lost his patience.

"If you have something to say, bug man, spit it out. Otherwise, I'll talk to you guys in a week," he snapped.

"No! Booth, don't hang up. You need to hear this," Hodgins came back, clearly agitated. "A friend of mine called a little while ago." When it appeared that Hodgins was finished, Booth had had enough.

"Well, I guess it's good that you have friends, Hodgins. I'm just not quite sure why you felt the need to share that with me. So, if that's it, goodbye."

"It's about Bren, Booth," Angela shouted before Booth could sever the connection. _Okay, she had his full attention now_.

"Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" he demanded.

"I was trying to do that when you got snippy," Hodgins declared. Booth gritted his teeth to keep from yelling at the man before he found out what was going on. Stopping in front of the airport entrance, he rubbed a hand over his face and sighed.

"Please continue, Hodgins." Hodgins decided to ignore the growling voice that the order had been delivered in and continue his explanation.

"As I was saying," he said loftily and Booth had to bite his lip to keep from shouting at him to get to the damn point. "A friend of mine called to let me know he had lunch with one of the investors who toured the lab this morning." Hearing Booth's teeth grinding together over the phone, Hodgins decided to get to the point. "The guy was bragging that he and Brennan would be in Bali for a week. He didn't mention the conference but he flat out told my friend they had a sexual relationship." Hodgins finished in a rush. Booth felt his heart and gut clench tightly at Hodgins words. He couldn't believe how painful it was to hear someone say Brennan was physically involved with some guy he didn't even know about. Not that he wanted to know about her sexual conquests, but still, he could usually tell when she was involved with someone and he had not seen any sign of that lately. _And why in the world would the squints tell him something like that in the first place? Was this Angela's way of getting back at him for hurting Brennan? If it was, she had chosen wisely because it hurt like hell._

"I'm not sure what you want me to say Hodgins. Bones is a big girl, she can sleep with whoever she wants to..," struggling to keep his voice even, Booth was interrupted by three very loud, disbelieving snorts.

"She's not sleeping with him, Booth. For God's sakes, she just met him this morning," Booth felt his heart lift even though Angela was using her _You're an idiot_ tone. "The guy lied," she finished in disgust. Booth could tell they were all waiting on something from him, he just had no idea what it was.

"I don't know what you want me to do here, Ange," His hands clenched into fists in outrage on behalf of his partner. He didn't like some guy telling lies about Brennan but he couldn't arrest him for it. He could and would have a nice long chat with him when they got to Bali, but he doubted that would make him feel better when he felt like beating the crap out of the liar. "What's this guy's name?" He demanded.

"His name is Andrew Newman, Booth," supplied Hodgins, "and this guy is bad news where women are concerned."

"Bad news how?" Booth's eyes narrowed at Hodgins concerned tone.

"He grew up in our neighborhood and was always more than a little odd," Booth pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it in disbelief, beginning to get a little concerned himself. _What the hell would the guy who had more money than God and chose to work with bugs and slime every day consider odd?_ He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Define odd, Hodgins." Booth almost smiled at the other man's long suffering sigh at the interruption of his tale.

"He was just a really weird, creepy kid, Booth. Then neighborhood pets started disappearing and he was always somewhere in the vicinity, but no one ever actually saw him do anything." Booth felt a shiver work down his spine. Hodgins was describing a typical sociopath's childhood behavior. "As he got older, he turned his attention to girls and we would hear rumors that he hurt them, but no one ever pressed charges." Booth's blood was beginning to chill at the thought of Brennan becoming the focus of this guy's attention. "He doesn't like to take no for an answer and the rumors said he really liked to rough them up as well as drug them." Booth could hear the biting anger and disgust in Hodgins' voice as he conveyed this part, feeling his own ire rise at the thought of this man inflicting pain on those weaker than him and enjoying it. _No way in hell would he get that chance with his Bones._ Before Booth could assure the squints he would take care of Brennan, Cam broke in.

"When Hodgins came to me with this, Booth, I called some contacts in law enforcement and this guy has never been charged with anything but, in the last three years, he has had three assault and two rape allegations levied against him," she said quietly.

"Why was he never charged? Why the hell isn't he in jail?" Booth demanded, starting to pace as his agitation grew.

"Money," Hodgins guessed. Although Booth couldn't see them, Cam and Angela nodded their agreement of his assessment of the situation.

"I would have to agree with Hodgins, Booth," Cam confirmed. "Every single woman who filed a complaint recanted within 48 hours. Evidence disappeared and the complaints were buried." Booth felt fury wash over him. He knew he had issues with rich people and things like this were exactly why. When someone had a lot of money, they thought they could get away with anything and, unfortunately, they frequently could. But not with his Bones, no way was this bastard getting with a mile of her. Booth would make sure of that. As much as Booth wanted this time alone with Brennan, her safety was more important than anything. With a sigh, he let go of the Bali dream.

"I'm already at the airport, guys. I'll pick Bones up and she can just skip the conference." He was proud that he was able to keep the disappointment out of his voice, but was surprised to hear three people snorting.

"Don't you think we've already tried that, Booth?" demanded Angela.

"We called Brennan first thing, Booth," Hodgins assured him.

"What did she say?" Booth asked quietly.

"She laughed," Angela supplied morosely.

"She said she had to go to the symposium so that everyone could keep their jobs," added Cam softly.

"And that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself," Booth and Hodgins stated in tandem. Booth wasn't surprised at her attitude, he had heard it all before.

"I'll talk to her," Booth assured the other three, confident in his ability to get her to stay put. Thankfully he couldn't see all the eye rolling going on in Angela's office or he might have been hurt that the squints doubted his ability to influence Brennan.

"And what if you can't talk her out of going, Booth?" Angela demanded, the genuine concern for Brennan's safety in her voice allowing Booth to overlook her snippy tone.

"Then I go with her, Angela. Look, guys," he said with a sigh, "she's my partner. I've had her back for a long time now and I won't let anything happen to her."

"You can't watch her every second, Booth." Angela insisted.

"Not as just her partner, anyway," Cam added quietly and very seriously. Hodgins kept his mouth shut and Booth's mind whirled.

"Just what exactly are you suggesting, Cam?"

"We think you should pretend to be a couple," Cam returned calmly. Booth could feel his face flushing with fury.

"Not funny, Angela," he snapped, sure this was her idea of a joke, just not quite sure why Hodgins and Cam would go along with it. "I hope you've all had a good laugh, but I have to go now," he was clenching the phone so tightly that it was cutting into his palm.

"This isn't a joke, Booth," Hodgins told him softly. "We just thought if we couldn't talk her out of going, then we should figure out a way for you to be with her all the time and that's what we came up with. Your mere presence as her significant other might even scare him off but I wouldn't count on it." Swayed by the sincerity in Hodgins' voice, Booth felt his fury evaporating. They had no idea what they were suggesting was exactly what he wanted to happen during this week. They were just trying to protect their friend.

"What did Bones say about this plan?" he asked anxiously. He was answered by utter silence. "You didn't mention it to her, did you?"

"Nope," Angela said cheerfully. "We came up with the plan. It's up to you to talk her into it." Booth felt like banging his head against a wall. They had no idea what they were asking of him.

"Angela, you know she's not going to go along with anything like this. I can protect her without lying about our relationship," he assured them.

"What if he gets into her room while she's asleep at night, Booth? Will you be there to save her then or will you just be able to pick up the broken pieces later?" Angela demanded angrily. "We're not trying to mess with you here, Booth. We just want her to be safe." Booth sighed as Cam and Hodgins seconded Angela's opinion.

"Angela, I swear to you, I will keep her safe," Booth vowed solemnly.

"Fine," Angela snapped, "but if she comes back with so much as a broken nail, Seeley Booth, you will answer to me." Closing his eyes and praying for patience, he caught sight of his watch when he opened them. Shit if he didn't hurry, he was going to miss the plane.

"I have to go or I'm going to miss the plane. I will do whatever I need to do to keep her safe," he assured the three worried friends as he hurried into the busy airport and approached the private charter desk for directions.

"Ok, Booth, we trust you," Cam assured him, "you be careful, too." Not bothering to say goodbye, he flipped his phone closed as a steward came from behind the desk and told him he had almost missed the flight. Taking Booth's luggage, he escorted him to the private plane, motioning Booth to mount the steps and enter the plane while he stowed the luggage.

Angela, Cam and Hodgins shared a disgruntled look when they realized Booth had just hung up on them. Angela was only able to hold the expression for a few seconds before she leaned back in her chair, a huge grin splitting her face. Cam and Hodgins shared a confused look, both a little reluctant to question the artist and both knowing they would have to ask to find out what was making her so happy because neither of them had a clue how her mind worked.

"Ange, what are you grinning about?" Hodgins dove in first. Angela smirked at him.

"No particular reason, Hodgie. I just hope Booth and Brennan have a good time." Neither Hodgins nor Cam believed that so Cam tried her luck.

"Angela, you do realize that this man could be a serious threat to Brennan's safety?" Angela's smile faded and she glared at Cam.

"Yeah, Cam, I do know that, but thanks for reminding me," taking pity on the other two she decided to share why she was in such a good mood, her disgruntled expression giving way to another huge grin. "Don't worry, you two. Booth practically promised he wouldn't take his eyes off of Bren."

"And that makes you happy?" Cam was still confused but Hodgins was beginning to see the light. Angela nodded at Cam.

"Ange," said Hodgins gently, "I know that you think Booth and Brennan belong together, but they see each other every day and nothing is going on between them. What makes you think this trip will change that?" Angela shrugged, leaving her chair and heading for the door of her office with Cam and Hodgins hot on her heels.

"I don't know, Hodgie. I just have a hunch that Booth will see aspects of Bren on this trip that he's never seen before." Being in front of the other two, Angela didn't even try to control the wicked grin curving her lips.

"Like what?" demanded Hodgins suspiciously, grabbing Angela's arm and pulling her to a halt. Wiping the grin from her face, she turned to bat innocently wide eyes at him.

"How would I know, Hodgie? They'll be on a tropical island, I'm sure they'll both be learning new things about each other." After studying her face for several seconds, Hodgins nodded and let go of her arm. Angela swung around and ambled off, her grin breaking through when she thought of the red micro bikini that she had packed for Brennan. _Oh, yeah, Booth would definite be seeing new aspects of Brennan. _

Booth came to an abrupt halt just inside the door of the luxuriously decorated plane, his teeth grinding together as he looked around taking in every detail. The lighting was very low and intimate. The excellent sound system was broadcasting some lazy, sexy jazz and a bottle of champagne on ice was setting on the bar just waiting for the cork to be popped and poured into the two crystal flutes beside the ice bucket. It was obviously a scene set with seduction in mind and that pissed him off, that some jerk would just come in and think Brennan was his for the taking, that she would fall for this crap. His eyes honed in on the woman standing near the front of the plane and the man who was standing much too close to her, invading her personal space. For just a second, Booth wondered if he should interfere then he saw Brennan step away from the man and him follow trying to crowd her against the wall. Hell, yeah, he was going to interfere.

Stepping further into the plane, Booth cleared his throat. Brennan's and the stranger's heads jerked around. The man wore a deep scowl obviously not appreciating the interruption, but Booth read pure relief and joy at seeing him on Brennan's face as she pushed past the man and came toward him. He could see the question in her eyes about why he was there and the surprise when he didn't stop walking until his arms slid around her and he pulled her snugly against his chest.

"Hey, Babe. I'm sorry I'm late. I got tied up at work," he saw her mouth open and knew the questions would be coming fast and furious. _He had to shut her up,_ he told himself. _It was really for her own protection and if the only way to accomplish that was to kiss her, well he had promised Angela he would do whatever it took to keep her safe and if this is what was required of him, he guessed he'd just have to do it._ Holding her gaze with his own he leaned down. "Just go with me on this one, Bones. I'll explain later." he whispered just before he captured her lips in a kiss of utter possession.


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, guys, here it is. The next chapter. You know what to do. Push that little review button and make Musie happy if you want more. Thanks.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Brennan stepped into the private plane in front of Andrew Newman and wondered if she had made a serious mistake by completely ignoring the information she had received from her friends about the man behind her. She had been so secure in the knowledge that she could take care of herself that she hadn't even considered the possibility that he would be accompanying her on the flight to Bali. Them being the only two passengers made her more than a little uncomfortable. Especially when she recalled he had asked her out twice during the tour of the lab this morning, but she had been so tied up in knots about Booth she had barely noticed the man. She had simply turned down the invitations and moved on, not noticing the way his eyes followed her every move.

When he had met her in the lounge, the way he was looking at her made her uncomfortable. Being the straightforward person that she was, she had told him in no uncertain terms that she was attending the conference in a professional capacity and wasn't interested in developing a personal relationship with anyone at the present time. Feeling the matter was taken care of, she accompanied him to the private plane.

Stepping into the plane, she wasn't just uncomfortable, she was creeped out. She wasn't nearly as oblivious as most people thought and she certainly knew when a man had set a scene in the hopes of seducing a woman. The one laid out before her was a perfect example. She didn't know whether to stomp off the plane in outrage or laugh hysterically at the sheer gall of the man. She did know one thing for sure, there was no way she was going to Bali with him as the only other passenger, she decided, automatically moving further into the plane to keep him from touching her when he crowded at her back.

Almost to the front of the plane, she stopped and turned, holding out a hand to stop his progress, but he stepped in much closer than she wanted him to be. Unwilling to step back and be seen as weak or fearful, she held her ground.

"Mr. Newman, I think you are operating under a misconception. I have no intention of having a personal relationship with you despite your generous donation to the Jeffersonian." She told him for the second time. She kept her voice even, but was unable to keep the icy disdain from bleeding through. He laughed softly as if she had made a joke.

"Dr. Brennan, I'm sure we would both enjoy getting to know each other better. Now, why don't you take a seat and I'll pour us some champagne?" he encouraged with what he apparently considered a charming smile. Brennan wasn't charmed.

Brennan stared at the man in disbelief. She wasn't afraid of him exactly, but he made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. He stepped closer and she couldn't help the shudder of revulsion that coursed over her and took a step back to keep him further away. _God, she wished Booth was here._ _This creep would back off in a heartbeat with her partner present. _Just as she opened her mouth to inform the delusional man that she was getting off the plane, she heard a throat clear and looked toward the still open door of the plane. _Booth._ She was so glad to see him, she didn't even think to question his presence. Her knees shook in relief as she pushed past Newman and went to her partner. She was surprised when his arms slid around her. She was more surprised and a little confused at his whispered words. She was stunned speechless when he kissed her.

Booth had meant to kiss her lightly on the lips, but the moment his lips touched hers, his body took over. It had the memories of kissing those luscious lips thousands of times and it was unwilling to settle for a little peck after being denied those kisses for so long. His lips nudged hers apart and his tongue slipped into her mouth to slide along hers and his whole body clenched in desire. The kiss felt gloriously new and achingly familiar at the same time. It felt like a part of him had been missing, but now with a simple touching of lips he was whole again.

In the back of his mind, he expected her to pull away and slap his face, but she didn't. She leaned into him and opened her mouth and he no longer cared why he was kissing her. The only thing that mattered was she was kissing him back and he wasn't about to stop anytime soon. Sliding a hand into her hair, he tilted her head and deepened the kiss.

Brennan liked to think she was a rational, logical person no matter what the circumstances, but her reaction to Booth's lips moving on hers and his tongue sliding into her mouth blew that theory right out of the water. The logical, rational thing would have been to push him away and demand an explanation, but that would have been difficult to do with a brain that had turned to mush by one simple kiss. Her brain told her to just shut the hell up and enjoy it and her body took over, relaxing against his tall, hard frame, her arms stealing up around his neck as her mouth opened on a silent sigh to give him better access. God, she had wanted this for so long and the feel of his arms around her, her chest crushed tightly against his was so much better than all her fantasies put together. She couldn't get close enough, she thought wiggling against him, delighting in the groan she pulled from his throat.

They were jerked from their sensual interlude by the sound of shattering glass nearby. Pulling apart, they simply stared at each other for long seconds, breathing hard before they turned to see that Andrew had thrown the bottle of champagne across the plane where it had shattered against the opposite wall. Raising a brow, Booth turned toward the other man while slipping a possessive arm around Brennan's waist and bending to whisper in her ear.

"Just go along with whatever I say, Bones. I'll explain everything later. Ok?" Receiving a nod, he raised assessing eyes to Andrew. The man was about 5'10" tall, slender build with soft, blonde good looks that screamed he was a child of privilege. And he was absolutely furious at the moment, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, his eyes burning with hatred as he looked at Booth.

"Well, Dr. Brennan, now that you've said your goodbyes, we really should be on our way," he said smoothly, his voice revealing none of the fury given away by his body language. Booth stiffened as Andrew's eyes shifted to Brennan and ran over his partner with a covetous, possessive glance that made him want to punch the guy. Slipping partially in front of Brennan and putting himself between his partner and the psycho, he turned to his partner with a playful grin.

"Didn't you tell him that I'm going with you, Baby?" he questioned softly, reaching out to touch her cheek. Brennan was still too blown away from the kiss to really question Booth's words or actions. Besides, she trusted him and she wanted him to go with her so she wasn't about to blow that. She could always interrogate him later.

"Excuse me?" Andrew's voice wasn't nearly as calm as it had been just seconds ago as he could see his plans disintegrating before his eyes. "And just who are you?" he demanded harshly. Booth turned back toward the man, eyes glinting with steel.

"Special Agent Seeley Booth, FBI," he snapped, "I'm Dr. Brennan's partner and where she goes, I go," he drawled with some amusement. He might have said partner, but there was such innuendo in the word that even Brennan got that he was implying they were lovers. She stiffened at the lie, but told herself to give Booth a chance to explain before she objected. Not that she would correct Booth's statement in front of the odious Andrew but he sure as hell was going to have some explaining to do when she got him alone.

"I see," said Andrew through clenched teeth, "then I guess the only thing I can say is welcome aboard, Agent Booth. I'm Andrew Newman," he said grandly as if Booth should be impressed. He wasn't and it showed making the other man even angrier. Neither man held out a hand and the battle lines were drawn. "If you two would like to be seated, I'll let the pilot know we can take off now," he snapped before stalking toward the cockpit. The second he was gone, Brennan grabbed Booth's arm and swung him around to face her.

"Booth, what are you doing here? What is going on?" she demanded in a rushed, loud whisper. Booth placed a finger over her lips indicating she should be silent, he didn't want Andrew to overhear or the whole plan would be shot to hell. Unable to stop his finger from tracing the line of her lips, he leaned down until his forehead rested against hers.

"I need you to trust me on this, Bones. Okay?" He received a nod of confirmation just as Andrew joined them again, which was probably a good thing, he had been about to kiss her again and they needed to have a good, long talk before that happened again. Shooting her a grin, he linked his fingers with hers and pulled her to a seat. Yeah, this vacation looked like it might just turn out to be the best one of his life.

Brennan walked into the beachside cottage at one of the most exclusive resorts on the island and looked around her with interest. The decorators had definitely gone with an island theme but it was done tastefully with high quality furniture in the sitting room. Her attention was drawn from further exploration of her temporary home by the view from the sliding glass doors in the sitting room. Walking over, she saw the cottage was built right on the beach, sugar white sandy beaches extended from the patio down to the water which was a clear, beautiful blue.

As entranced with the view as she was, she found her mind wandering back to the moment on the plane when Booth had kissed her. She was so confused, she didn't know what to think. Just four days ago, he had laughed at her for suggesting that he was acting like a jealous boyfriend but that was exactly what he had implied he was to Andrew. And he had definitely liked kissing her, they had been close enough that there was no way he could hide just how much he had liked it. The really confusing part was that she had liked it, too. Even though she was still not quite sure where they stood with each other at the moment on a personal level and he had hurt her deeply, she had forgotten all that the moment he pulled her against him and had simply reveled in the feel of his lips on hers and his body pressing against hers. _God, what was she going to do?_

Tipping the bellman who had insisted on accompanying them to the isolated cottage that they had been assigned, Booth closed the door and turned to look at his partner. To most people it would appear that she was just enjoying the view, but he knew her better than that. He knew that big brain of hers was whirling, trying to come up with logical reasons for his behavior. He also knew she hadn't forgotten or completely forgiven him for what she believed he had done the previous Friday.

It was time for them to talk this thing out and figure out what they were going to do because it was obvious that Andrew saw Booth's presence as a challenge and he wasn't backing off. He hadn't given them a moment alone on the plane and Booth had overheard his whispered conversation with the desk clerk. The lunatic had reserved this particular cottage with every intention of sharing it with Brennan. Looking around, Booth noted there was only one bedroom and his fists clenched in fury at the other man's gall. Not that Brennan would ever have gone along with it. _No, she would have raised holy hell_, he thought with a grin, but the man even thinking this was acceptable behavior put Booth's back up. Deciding there was no time like the present, he pushed away from the door and walked toward his partner.

Brennan heard him coming and could see him in the glass. She still hadn't come to any conclusions but she could tell by his determined expression that her contemplative time was up. Booth wanted to talk and that was fine with her because she had plenty of questions. Swinging around, she hit him with the first one before he could confuse her further by getting closer and whatever soft words he planned to use to get her to do whatever he wanted.

"Why are you here, Booth?" she asked quietly and he stopped in his tracks. What to say here? _I'm here because I hope to seduce you on this trip_. Probably not the best choice. _I'm here to protect you from psycho boy_. Not the reason he had come in the first place, but it was something she would understand and probably go along with. _He would have to work up to the real reason for his presence_ he decided with a sigh. For now, it would be better to stick to his role as her partner.

"Are you kidding me, Bones? You had to have noticed that Andrew is just a little too focused on you. I'm here to make sure you're safe." He couldn't meet her eyes as he uttered those words and missed the brief flash of hurt in hers. It was the truth as far as it went but he still felt like he was lying to her and he didn't like the feeling at all.

"So, you're here in a professional capacity? As my partner?" she questioned, wrapping her arms around her abdomen and turning back to the view to hide her expression from him. Booth knew she had taken his words the wrong way and walked over to place a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off and moved away. Sighing in frustration, he ran a hand around the nape of his neck.

"Not exactly," he told her allowing her to maintain the distance between them for now, quickly deciding he had no choice but to come clean with her now before she got any more wrong ideas.

"That was a yes or no question, Booth. Are you being paid to be here?" she asked, her face and voice devoid of emotion as she swung around to face him. Before he could offer an explanation, she nodded, correctly reading that yes, he was being paid to be here on his face. Refusing to allow any of the hurt or confusion she felt to show on her face, she started to pace as she laid out his earlier actions as she now saw them.

"Angela called you with the same information about Andrew that she gave me and you felt it was your duty to come and save me," despite her best efforts, she couldn't keep her voice completely steady. Holding up her hand when he started to speak, she continued with her pacing and her words, "When you arrived at the plane, you assessed the situation and determined that making him think I was involved with you would be the ideal way to make him back off. So, you kissed me."

She was really getting wound up now and Booth knew it was time to put a stop to it before she worked herself into a real snit and refused to have anything to do with him while they were on Bali. It was no longer about his hopes for the trip, it was now about her safety and that was something he didn't take lightly. Grabbing her arm on her next pass in front of him, he swung her around and pulled her to his chest, sliding his arms around her waist to hold her in place and ignoring her wide eyes and wiggling to get free.

"Yes, ok, I kissed you in front of that creep to let him know that you weren't available. But I liked it, Bones, and whether you admit it or not, so did you, but this isn't about that. This is about keeping you safe." He ignored her snort of derision. "In case you didn't notice, the guy can't take a hint and he is dangerous, Bones. The way I see it, we have to keep up the pretence of us being a couple so I can stay close to you," putting a hand over her mouth when she started to sputter, he continued, playing a card he knew she wouldn't be able to resist. "You can look at it as an undercover assignment. Just think of it as practice for the next time we join the circus." Seeing the interest spark in her eyes, he knew he had her.

_Oh, he really knew how to play dirty_, Brennan decided. He knew she loved going undercover, being someone other than herself. She knew she was going to give in but she was going to set some ground rules. She might be unable to resist the lure of being someone else but she wouldn't let him use the opportunity to break her heart again. Turning her head to dislodge his hand from her mouth, she regarded him with narrowed eyes.

"Fine, Booth. But no more kissing or touching," she demanded more than a little put out when he laughed at her attempt to bargain.

"Now, Bones, do you really think we're going to convince anyone we're a couple if there's no kissing or touching?" his voice had turned husky as he gently smoothed a strand of hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. Fighting down a shiver, Brennan had to agree with him on that one.

"Fine," she agreed, "but only in public, no kissing in private," she said almost desperately as his head started to bend toward her. Grinning, he rested his forehead against hers and nodded his agreement. He had a feeling if he didn't she would nix the whole scheme and they could always amend the rules as they went along.

"Now we need to talk about Friday." Ignoring the way she stiffened and tried to pull out of his arms, he used one hand to tip her face up, forcing her to meet his eyes. "I wasn't laughing at you, Bones. I would never do that. I was laughing at myself but that's a conversation for another time. I need to know that you believe me." Searching his eyes, Brennan saw only honesty and caring. Booth was telling her the truth. She desperately wanted him to explain further but had enough to deal with right now. He was right they could talk this out later.

"I believe you, Booth," she whispered, surprised when he hugged her so tightly she almost couldn't breathe and buried his face in her neck. After what seemed like long minutes, he let her go and stepped back.

"So, let's get unpacked and hit the beach," he suggested, rubbing his hands together. Brennan, still trying to control her breathing after being so close to Booth, nodded and blindly headed to the bedroom. Needing a few minutes himself, Booth walked over to the sliding glass doors and leaned against one shoulder staring at the undulating waves, silently thanking God that things had gone well. Not exactly the way he had planned but he could work with this, he decided.

"Booth," Brennan called loudly from the bedroom. Pushing away from the door, Booth strode into the room to find Brennan staring down into an opened suitcase in horror.

"What's wrong," asked Booth, instantly concerned.

"This isn't my suitcase," she almost whispered, her gaze never leaving the contents of the suitcase.

"What?" asked Booth in confusion, reaching out and grabbing the luggage tags. "Of course, it's yours, Bones. Look at the tags," he encouraged, turning the tags toward her. Without taking her eyes off the contents of the suitcase she shook her head.

"To be more precise, Booth, these aren't my clothes." Ah, now Booth understood. _Angela had struck_. Curious about what the other woman had packed, especially since Brennan looked like whatever was in the suitcase was going to jump out and bite her if she took her eyes off of it for an instant, Booth leaned over to take a look for himself. And swallowed hard.

Spread out on top of whatever else she had packed was the smallest red bikini, he had ever seen in his life. He was pretty sure that if Brennan put that on for him, they would never make it to the beach. He tried to pull his eyes away, not really wanting to have any other images of whatever the diabolical artist had decided was adequate wear for a tropical island in his head but he couldn't look away. His eyes took in lacy, see through bras, thongs in all shades of the rainbow and a nightgown that made him bite back a groan at the thought of Brennan sliding into bed beside him wearing that.

Luckily his eyes caught on the end of an envelope sticking up at the back of the suitcase. Gingerly reaching in, doing his best not to touch anything, he grabbed it and jerked. He ended up holding two envelopes and the nightgown. Dropping the nightgown like it was a livewire, he focused on the envelopes, trying ignore the how silky the material of the gown had felt against his hand and how it would look hugging Brennan's body. Finally making out the names scrawled on the front of the envelopes, he handed one to Brennan and tore open the one addressed to him. After seeing Brennan's reaction to Angela's packing assistance, he wasn't about to admit it had been his idea and he just hoped she didn't bust him in her note to Bones. Deciding he would just have to deal with it if she did, he pulled the folded note from the envelope and almost burst out laughing when he saw the words in the artist's unique scrawl.

_Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas, Studly._

_PS. Don't ever forget that I have Max and my dad on speed dial. Have fun._

"Angela," Brennan breathed in understanding the instant she saw her name on the envelope. Carefully opening the letter, she pulled out a folded sheet of paper covered in her best friend's writing. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Booth had politely retreated to the sitting room to give her some privacy. Dropping to the bed, she started to read.

_Sweetie,_

_Since you flatly refused to go shopping with me, I had no choice but to do things this way. Now before you jump on the next plane back to DC to kill me, give me a chance to explain. I know you, Bren. You're going to a tropical paradise, but you packed the most boring clothes in your closet. It was my job as your best friend to correct that mistake, especially when I found out that the one man you have the hots for would be there, too._

_Let yourself go, Bren. Wear these clothes, flirt with Booth and trust that things will work out. Live for the pleasures of today without worrying about tomorrow. In other words, take a week off from being you and be me. And, for God's sake, put your brain on hold and just have a little fun. You deserve it, Bren. You work so hard for other people that you cheat yourself, so I'm playing the best friend card and begging you to just turn loose and do whatever feels good._

_If that doesn't work, I'm putting in my last request. Well, actually, it's a whole list of requests but if you do them and still want to kill me when you get back to DC, I won't even complain. Much. So, here they are._

_You will not throw these clothes in the closet and rush out to buy what you consider more appropriate attire. You will make use of the wardrobe I have provided for you._

_You will wear the red bikini and go to the beach with one Seeley Booth._

_You will wear the blue dress out to dinner with one Seeley Booth where you will dance with the man and hopefully have the good sense to flirt with him shamelessly._

_Remember just because something might not last forever doesn't mean it can't be great for the time it does last._

_Remember that Booth cares about you, Bren, despite any recent misunderstandings and I know you care about him._

_This is the most important one, Bren. Be me for 48 hours. Pretend you're on an undercover assignment and just do what I would do. I can guarantee it will liven up your vacation and probably throw Booth for a loop. I love you, Bren._

_Angela_

For an instant, Brennan was stunned at how much trouble Angela had gone to for her. She felt kind of bad that she had blown Angela off for the suggested shopping trip. Looking into the suitcase, she had to admit she would never have bought any of the things Angela had deemed necessary. She doubted if she even had the nerve to wear them, but she couldn't get one line in Angela's letter out of her head. Be me, Angela had urged. You could bet that Angela would never lack the courage to put on that red bikini and prance around the beach. Biting her lip, Brennan debated her choices.

Angela had gone to a lot of trouble to provide these clothes for her. It would be very rude to ignore that and not use them. The fact that she was dying to see Booth's reaction to the red bikini didn't have any bearing on the situation, she assured herself. As to Angela's suggestion, Brennan did need an undercover persona. That was the biggest lure of going undercover; being someone completely different and you couldn't get much more different than Temperence Brennan and Angela Montenegro. Besides, Angela was her best friend and she should honor her requests for that reason alone. With a wicked smile, Brennan rose from the bed and started putting her clothes away.

"Do you want to hit the beach, Bones?" Booth asked from the doorway.

"Sure, Booth," she answered, busily putting clothing in drawers. "Just give me a minute to change," she turned toward him and held up the red bikini and Booth almost swallowed his tongue. Not just at the sight of the bikini, but at the way his partner's blue eyes boldly ran over him and the appreciative smile that curved her lips.

"Bones, are you ok?" he almost croaked, quickly clearing his throat as she slowly walked toward him.

"Of course, Booth. I'm just working on my undercover persona for this assignment," she didn't stop until she was toe to toe with him and her hand reached out to undo two of the buttons on his shirt before he could capture her hand in his.

"What are you doing?" Damn, his voice was even more hoarse, but it couldn't be helped. This was not a side of Brennan he had dealt with before.

"Just helping you get changed, Booth," she lifted huge, innocent eyes filled with laughter to his.

"Yeah, thanks, but I can handle getting changed." Shrugging, she turned and sashayed toward the bathroom, Booth eyes drawn to the exaggerated sway of her hips. Looking over her shoulder, she caught him staring at her butt and laughed huskily.

"Booth, don't you want to know who my persona is based on?" Licking dry lips, he was pretty sure he didn't but he nodded anyway.

"Angela," she told him with a sultry wink before entering the bathroom and closing the door. _Holy Mother of God_, thought Booth, grabbing the doorjamb to support himself. Pair the lust and desire he felt for Brennan with Angela's lack of inhibition and he was in serious trouble. He had already lost control of the situation. At this point, he could only hope he came out of this week with his sanity intact.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys, I can't seem to help myself with this one. This chapter is a little short but I think you will forgive me. LOL. Remember a happy Musie writes more than an unhappy one and reviews make Musie happy.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Brennan looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, gulped hard, closed her eyes and prayed she would see something different when she opened them. Slowly opening her eyes, she looked into the mirror. _Nope, still the same thing_. _She couldn't do this_. There was no way she could walk out of this bathroom in this pathetic excuse for a bathing suit. Even naked, she didn't feel as naked as she did in this thing. _Angela would do it_, her inner voice chimed in. Yeah, Ange did a lot of things that Brennan would never even consider. _But isn't that what this week is all about? You being Angela instead of Brennan? Having some fun? Living a little? If you can walk out of here in that thing, you can do anything. _

Damn, she hated it when her inner voice was right. She wouldn't even hesitate to refuse if Angela hadn't included the bikini on her freaking list and she had no doubt that her diabolically clever friend had known that. Chewing her lower lip in indecision, she surveyed the bikini one last time. Brennan had never considered her breasts overly large, but the portions of them covered by the miniscule triangles of the bikini top called that judgment into question. Only her nipples and a couple of inches to each side were adequately covered. The bottoms were just as bad. Her front was adequately covered but the portion of her rear end that was exposed was almost indecent. Although she was by no means prudish, she just wasn't used to quite this much of her body being on public display. Still trying to make up her mind, Brennan jumped when Booth knocked on the bathroom door.

"Open the door, Bones," he called softly.

"Why?" she demanded suspiciously. She could hear his sigh through the door.

"Because we both know there is no way you're going to wear that bikini on the beach and I have some shorts and a shirt for you," he answered calmly. Brennan's eyes narrowed dangerously. _So Seeley Booth thought he knew what she would do in any given situation, did he?_ In normal circumstances, he would have been absolutely correct, but these weren't normal circumstances. This week she wasn't Temperence Brennan or even Bones. She was Angela and Angela wouldn't be wasting time in the bathroom when she could be on the beach. _You go girl,_ cheered her inner voice as she strode to the door and jerked it open so fast Booth almost stumbled into her. Sliding past him, she calmly picked up a beach towel from the end of the bed and headed for the sliding glass doors.

"I'm ready if you are." She wasn't worried about Booth's lack of verbal response. She had gotten a good look at his slack jawed face and knew he wouldn't be far behind. _Wow, maybe Angela was onto something. This could really turn out to be fun_.

Booth tried to make his feet move but that was difficult to do since his mind had turned to mush the instant Brennan had opened the bathroom door and he had seen the delectable body that he had fantasized about so often on display with only strategically placed triangles of red material keeping her from being completely naked. In fact, she was so close to nude, his mind had no difficulty whatsoever filling in the blanks and that vision made him instantly hot and achingly hard. Raising a hand to wipe his sweating brow, he realized his hand was shaking. Damn, he'd always said his partner was going to be the death of him, but he'd never thought she would be into torture. He was beginning to think asking Angela to help Brennan pack for this trip had been a mistake.

Taking a deep breath, Booth tried to banish the picture of Brennan in or out of that damn bikini from his mind or he was never going to be presentable enough to join Brennan on the beach. After several minutes, he knew he was fighting a losing battle. Grabbing his own beach towel and the tanning lotion, he decided he would just have to seat himself strategically, but no way was he leaving her out there alone any longer. Grabbing her sunglasses off the side table he trotted off after his suddenly unpredictable partner.

Brennan had already spread out her towel and was lying face down with her chin propped on her folded hands. The sun was very bright but by squinting her eyes, she had no trouble seeing Booth coming toward her and she wouldn't have missed the show for the world. Her eyes traced covetously over the sculpted muscles of his chest and abdomen, skimmed over the loose boxer style swim trunks and down his strongly muscled thighs and calves. She caught herself just before she licked her lips. She wondered if she could talk him into wearing a speedo. She doubted it, she really didn't think Booth would be into spandex but it was worth a try. God, listen to her, she had been Angela less than an hour and she was plotting on how to get Booth into spandex. _Wasn't it great?_

Booth looked a little suspicious of her grin but she batted her lashes at him innocently, shading her eyes from the sun. Handing her sunglasses to her, he spread out his towel beside her and sat down, hugging his knees to his chest and looked out over the ocean.

"Did you know this was a private beach?" she asked just to make conversation because Angela said that's what you should do in situations like this. Booth hadn't known that but was very glad that he wouldn't now have to shoot ever guy who looked at Brennan in that sinfully sexy bikini. Shaking his head, he looked over at her and couldn't look away. Her gloriously changeable blue/grey eyes were full of playful laughter and he couldn't help but grin back.

"So you're going to be Angela this week?" he questioned on a laugh. Grinning back, she nodded.

"Yes, I think Angela's persona will be appropriate for this undercover operation." Booth was glad to see that Angela hadn't completely taken over, there was still at least a part of his Bones in there.

"What's on the agenda for the rest of today?"

"We're supposed to have dinner with the organizers at eight but nothing until then. The conference isn't officially scheduled to start until the day after tomorrow. I have no idea why they insisted that I arrive today," she grouched in irritation. Booth had a pretty good idea and his name was Andrew Newman and just the name reminded Booth he was here in a professional capacity so he had better stop lusting after his partners beautiful body and straighten up.

Spotting the bottle of suntan lotion, Brennan grabbed it and held it out to Booth. "Would you mind putting some of this on my back," she requested with what Angela called the big eyes. Booth looked from the bottle of lotion to the amount of exposed flesh on her back and knew that was a very, very bad idea. His hands actually itched to touch her but he wasn't at all sure he could make them or any other part of his body behave if he actually put his hands on her right now.

"Fine," Brennan said with a sad sigh when he made no move to take the lotion from her, "I guess I'll just have to turn over then." _Uh, no, he knew for sure he would be on her like a caveman if that happened_. Booth snatched the bottle of lotion from her hand so fast she didn't even see the movement. Lowering her head against the towel to hide her giggles, she grinned in satisfaction. _This manipulating men wasn't so hard after all._

"You are really pushing it, Bones," Booth growled, going up on his knees beside her. _Oh, she hadn't even started to push him yet._

Taking a deep breath, Booth told himself it was just rubbing lotion on a friend's back; he'd done it a hundred times before. But it wasn't the same and he knew it. He'd never craved having his hands on someone like he did Brennan. There was nothing simple or straightforward about it. Squeezing the lotion directly onto her back, he grinned when she squealed and scrunched her shoulders together.

"You did that on purpose," she accused trying to turn over to look at him.

"Lay down if you want me to do this," he chided, gently pushing her shoulders back down. Slowly stroking that slippery lotion over his partner's hot, silky skin turned into one of the most erotic experiences of his life.

Starting at her shoulders, he smoothed the lotion down her arms and over her shoulders while she hummed in pleasure under his hands. He knew within seconds he wasn't going to be able to remain detached and decided the hell with it. If she was going to tease and torment him, then he was going to enjoy touching her every chance he got. Feeling her stiffen when he untied the bikini top, he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"You wouldn't want to have a tan line, would you, Angela?" With a husky little laugh that sent a shiver down his spine, she relaxed again and he continued with his self imposed torture, making sure that his hands strayed far enough to graze the sides of her breasts. She never made a sound of protest, but she did shift position as if she wanted his hands closer and Booth clamped down on his inner caveman to prevent himself from rolling her over and going for it.

Every muscle in his body tensed as his hands moved onto the firm globes of her rear end. He told his hands to do this quickly and move on but they refused to listen, lovingly smoothing the lotion into every inch of exposed skin and even creeping under the edges of the bikini bottoms. He didn't want to take a chance on her getting burned just in case it shifted with her movements he told himself. They were both breathing hard by the time he moved on to her legs. Long, tortuous minutes later, he flopped back on his own towel on his stomach, feeling like he had just been hit by a tornado. _Yes, she was definitely going to kill him on this trip_. He was so hard he hurt and had no real hopes of that being taken care of by someone other than himself anytime soon.

Forgetting that her top was untied, Brennan came up on her elbows and looked at Booth curiously.

"Do you want me to rub some lotion on you, Booth?" she offered.

"No!" he replied sharply unable to draw his eyes away from the sight of her bare breasts now visible with the gaping top. God, they were beautiful, firm, milky white globes topped by pebbled nipples the color of ripe raspberries. He liked to think his hands being all over her had turned her on as much as it had him and the erect nipples gave him some hope.

Following his eyes, Brennan gasped and quickly lowered her chest back to her beach towel. Able to think now that his lovely view had been taken away, he realized how sharply he had spoken to her. He was sorry about that but there was no way he was taking the chance of this flirty, suggestive Brennan putting her hands on him right now. He had no doubts whatsoever where that would lead and they had a lot of things to work out before they wound up in bed, no matter how badly he wanted them there. Looking over, he saw by her satisfied feline smile that she knew exactly what she was doing to him and his eyes narrowed.

"You know, Bones, you should just remember that payback is a bitch," he told her softly, looking directly into her eyes. Blinking rapidly, she finally admitted.

"I don't know what that means." Feeling a grin curl his own lips, Booth settled himself more comfortably on his towel to get some sun.

"Don't worry, Bones. I'll explain it to you later." And in great detail. With actions as well as words. Hiding his grin at her pouty expression, he closed his eyes and allowed his mind to wander over just how he would explain it to her. _Oh, yeah, payback might be a bitch but this was going to be so much fun, he could hardly wait._


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi, guys. Sorry I didn't get this posted before going out of town but the good news is, the next chapter is almost finished and should be up no later than tomorrow. Enjoy and remember that I've been good all year so I deserve reviews. Happy Holidays all.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

Booth paced pack and forth in front of the sliding glass doors in the sitting room, frequently checking his watch. He and Brennan had spent a couple of hours on the beach then come in to get ready for their dinner with the organizers of the symposium and if she didn't hurry, they were going to be late. Knowing how badly she hated being late for anything, Booth strode to the closed bedroom door and knocked lightly. Getting no answer, he knocked a little harder. Still no answer. Now worried, he tried the knob which turned easily in his hands, silently opening the door. His only intent had been to make sure she was okay, but he couldn't move or speak at the sight before him, he could only stare. And want.

Brennan had urged Booth to take the first shower when they returned from the beach and she was now regretting that. This being Angela took a lot more preparation than being Brennan, she decided a little grumpily as she checked Angela's list one last time. When she had opened the garment bags containing dresses Angela deemed appropriate, she had found a note pinned to each fully outlining the shoes, accessories, underwear and even how to wear her hair with each. Apparently Angela thought she was incapable of dressing herself, she thought her pride stinging just a little, then she shrugged it off. Angela was just trying to help and she would follow her instructions Brennan decided.

Brennan had chosen the blue dress for tonight so she could complete Angela's list in a timely fashion but Angela's note had nixed that. The note had insisted that she wear the blue dress when she was having a private dinner with Booth and only then so Brennan had shrugged and chosen a peach silk number.

Leaving the bathroom after skin care and drying her hair, Brennan had put on the peach thong, sheer nude, silk, thigh high stockings and the 3 inch heels dyed to match the dress. Donning a short silk dressing gown courtesy of Angela she had arranged her hair on top of her head with the combs Angela had provided. Her skin was a little flushed from her time in the sun so she had only used a touch of peach lipstick and blue eye shadow that made her eyes look deep and mysterious. Eyeing herself critically in the lighted mirror, Brennan decided she looked pretty damn good and her appearance was as good as it was going to get. Walking over to the closet, she dropped the dressing gown on the floor as she opened the door and reached for the dress she intended to wear that night.

Booth watched as Brennan's hands untied the short silky robe she wore and shrugged it over her shoulders. His eyes hungrily followed the path of the robe as it flowed over her smooth shoulders and down her long bare back, slithering over the swell of her firm buttocks which were also completely bare, the color of the thong so closely matching her skin tones as to make them almost invisible and hit the floor soundlessly. A wave of lust hit Booth with the force of a tsunami and brought him to full, aching hardness almost instantly. And if it had been only lust, he could have battled it down and turned away but it wasn't. The lust was so entwined with the respect, the love, the caring her felt for this woman that he didn't know where one began and the other ended. He knew he should turn away that he was invading her privacy, hell he was turning into a peeping tom but he simply didn't have the willpower to pull his eyes away. Not when she appeared to be standing before him in nothing but stockings and 3 inch heels that made him want to stride over, push her against the wall and fuck her until she screamed.

Booth bit down on his bottom lip to hold back a moan as her arm lifted and she reached up to take a dress off the hanger, her lifted arms giving him a clear view of her bare breasts. Every cell in his body clenched with the effort to not go to her, strip her bare and tumble her back on the bed when she leaned down and stepped into the dress, squirming and wiggling to pull it up over her hips and breasts. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until black spots began to dance before his eyes. Attempting to take a deep breath, he let out a long, low growl of desire that no one could possibly interpret for anything other than what it was. A very aroused male of the species calling out to the female whom he desired.

Brennan's head snapped around to see Booth stalking toward her, his normally warm, chocolate brown eyes nearly black and predatory. Eyes widening, she backed away until she came up against the wall, holding the strapless bodice of the not yet zipped dress against her breasts. Booth kept coming until mere millimeters separated their bodies. He firmly planted his hands on the wall on either side of her head and ran hot, hungry eyes over every centimeter of her body. Brennan tried but couldn't repress the shiver that swept over her at his actions. She had never seen Booth quite like this and she found it somewhat appealing. _Oh, who was she kidding, she found it arousing as in she wanted to drag him to bed and have her way with him immediately if not sooner._ Her stomach clenched and she was already wet with the way he was looking at her. But this was her partner and they were acting in a professional capacity so she couldn't do that she told herself ruthlessly.

"What are you doing, Booth?" she almost stuttered, desperately trying to distract herself from the carnal thoughts flooding her mind as his eyes continued to roam her form and hot puffs of air from the pants issuing from his lips hit her face and neck.

"What do you think I'm doing, Bones?" he countered huskily, a single finger reaching out to trace the jumping pulse visible in her throat. She thought he was trying to make her crazy again. Even though she believed that he hadn't laughed at her for her jealous boyfriend remark like she had previously thought, he had told her nothing to indicate that he desired a personal relationship beyond their being partners and friends with her so the signals he was sending out right now were confusing her more than a little.

Yes, she could see and feel as he stepped even closer that he was aroused. Huge and hard, his erection pressed insistently against her stomach but that was actually a natural response of the body to the visual stimulation of watching her getting dressed. She knew she could take advantage of that arousal and have him right now and God knew she wanted to. She had never wanted anything quite as badly as she wanted this man and it was killing her to know he was hers for the taking at this moment but she had to look at the bigger picture. What would that do to their partnership and friendship on a long term basis? Until she was sure that Booth wanted to be with her as much as she wanted to be with him, she couldn't let things go that far. She wasn't above using this undercover operation for a little groping and making out but she wouldn't have sex with him until she was sure he wasn't going to break her heart again.

"I don't know," she whispered, her voice thick with apprehension and desire. It was the hardest thing Booth had ever done to step back from her and give her some space when his body screamed out for him to fuck her hard and fast, against the wall, on the bed. Hell, he didn't much care where, his body was demanding some relief from the desire for her that had been clawing at him so long. _They both wanted and needed it_, his inner voice urged and Booth believed that with all his heart, but he could see the fear and confusion in his partner's eyes and he wanted her to be sure that they were at least willing to give something permanent between them a shot before he took her to bed. Until she believed in them, he couldn't let this happen. Losing her in his dream world had been devastating; he didn't think he would survive it happening for real. Turning away, he ran a hand through his hair and paced a few steps away. When he swung back, he saw Brennan still in the same position against the wall, her eyes following his pacing form warily.

"Hey," he said softly walking back over and reaching out to run both hands soothingly up and down her arms, "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to walk in on you and I certainly didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me, Booth," she absolved him. "You just startled me a little." Her eyes darting down his body then back up to his face and away told him just exactly what had startled her and Booth felt himself blushing. She couldn't possibly have missed that he was still hard as a rock. "Your physical reaction to visual stimuli is normal, Booth." Booth felt a wave of tenderness for his partner wash over him as she offered him what she considered words of comfort.

He could see that she was confused and uncomfortable with the current situation and here she was trying to reassure him. As straightforward as she was about her sex life and as blunt as she could be about just about everything, they both tended to walk on eggshells and avoid the subject of them becoming more than partners and it had to startle her how tuned on he had been by watching her get dressed. _Bad thing to think about right now, _he told himself harshly. They would have to talk about this but it would be better to wait until he, at least, cooled down and the situation wasn't quite so…volatile.

"Can we just not talk about this right now?" he requested, grateful when she seemed to be relieved that he wanted to change the subject. When she started to chew on her bottom lip, he knew she had something else to say but didn't want to bring it up. With a sigh, he decided if she didn't tell him whatever it was right now, she would just brood about it all night. "What is it, Bones?"

"Maybe I should just drop my Angela persona and go back to being just me," she suggested, her tone clearly telling him that she very much did not want to do that.

"Well, Bones, there is certainly nothing wrong with being you, but why would you want to drop being Angela? You love undercover work and I thought you were looking forward to playing Angela all week?" When she wouldn't meet his eyes, he reached out and took her chin in his hand, raising her face until he was looking directly into his eyes and waited for her to answer. This was one of those times you couldn't push her.

"I do like being undercover, Booth. But I don't want to make you uncomfortable," her eyes darted away and Booth felt laughter bubble up inside him. If she had any idea just how uncomfortable she made him and how often she made him that way lately, she would probably slap his face. Ruthlessly snuffing out the laughter (no way was he going to laugh after how things had turned out the last time that had happened) he decided to let the choice be hers.

"I'll survive, Bones, but if you want to stop with the couple pretense, all you have to do is say so," he offered calmly, inwardly praying that she would choose to continue the game. If she chose to do that, he might spend the week highly uncomfortable, but he would be touching her and kissing her pretty much whenever he wanted. It was the granting of one of his most desired wishes. _God, when he thought about it like that, it made him sound like a pervert._ It was enough to almost make him call the whole thing off himself. _Nope_, he decided, _not even close_. There was no way he was missing out on a week pretending to be Bones' lover, certainly not by his own choice, but he would honor her choice.

"If you're sure it won't make you too uncomfortable, Booth," she searched his face for something and apparently found what she was looking for because she gave him a nod. _Oh, thank God_, Booth thought, his knees almost buckling in relief, not sure how he would have been able to talk her into changing her mind if she had chosen differently.

"We should get going or we're going to be late," he reminded her, suddenly remembering why he had opened the bedroom door in the first place. Checking her watch, she gave a gasp of dismay and swung around, presenting him her back.

"Zip me up, Booth," she urged over her shoulder. Teeth clenched, he reached out and drew the zipper of the dress up, unable to stop his fingers from stroking the smooth, silky skin of her back and congratulating himself when his hands were only shaking a little as he drew them back. With a grand gesture that drew a giggle from her, he indicated she should precede him out of the room. Smiling more easily than he would have thought possible just a few minutes earlier, Booth did what he always did, followed wherever she chose to lead him.

Two hours later, Booth gritted his teeth and fought the urge to punch their host as Newman asked Brennan to dance for the fifth time and for the fifth time she turned him down. Brennan had given the man some spiel about not liking to dance which was an outright lie which surprised Booth but he was pissed that now he couldn't dance with her either or he would basically obligate her to dance with the other men at the table and no way in hell was Newman putting his slimy paws anywhere on his partner.

Arriving at the dinner, Booth had found pretty much what he expected. Newman was present without a date, obviously sending Brennan the subtle message that he was unencumbered. Booth wanted to laugh at the man as Brennan didn't usually get things that were presented to her that subtly. Newman basically ignored Booth's presence and tried to court the good doctor as if she were here with him which put a stop to Booth's amusement. There were also two married couples present, the Rydell's and the Vaughns, and both couples seemed to be appalled and embarrassed at Newman's behavior.

Booth couldn't believe the man's gall. Newman acted as if Brennan should be flattered and grateful for the attention he tried to foist on her, ignoring Booth's warning looks. Booth had even told the man to back off in no uncertain terms but Newman had pretended not to hear him and continued his attempts to draw Brennan's attention away from Booth and onto himself. As the evening wore on and Brennan either ignored or didn't notice Newman's pathetic attempts at flirtation, the blowhard whose only topic of conversation had been himself and how much money he had became more and more sullen. He watched Brennan with a penetrating, possessive gaze that gave Booth the creeps.

Booth was also more than a little concerned about Brennan's behavior. At Mrs. Vaughn's urging, Brennan had ordered one of the island's special concoctions from the bar and found it delicious. She had ordered another and had sipped it slowly throughout dinner, refusing a glass of wine. Booth didn't know how much alcohol the drinks contained but they sure seemed to be hitting Brennan hard, which didn't make any sense. He had seen her drink a hell of a lot more alcohol than those two glasses could hold on many occasions and her behavior had never been affected. Not like this anyway.

When they had first arrived, Booth had thought they were acting a little stiff with each other, certainly not like lovers but the other five people at the table would have told them differently. They would have told them that they were constantly touching each other, brushing hands and arms, Booth putting his arm around Brennan's shoulders and her head resting briefly on his shoulder, giving each other soft, secretive smiles. They would have also told them that they communicated silently and seemed to be in perfect synch as they got lost in each other's eyes. Both of the older women sighed at the way they had to draw the couple's attention away from each other and direct it back to the conversation. They both were older and had been married a long time but neither had forgotten how it felt to be that young and that much in love.

By the time Brennan finished her first drink she had relaxed considerably with him and both of the older couples. She was polite but distant to Newman which only seemed to peak his interest. With that relaxation had come the longer touches, it had started innocently enough. She had reached up to brush something off the collar of his jacket and her hand had wound up caressing the back of his neck, nails scraping against sensitive flesh and almost making him choke on his entrée. Glancing at her, he had seen by her smirk that she had known exactly what she was doing and had done it on purpose.

It had only gotten worse from there. He hadn't bothered to count the times he had firmly trapped her hand under his as it moved sensuously up and down his thigh but it was a lot. She had taken to whispering almost everything she said to him directly into his ear and nibbling on his earlobe in the process. _God, she was killing him._ For the last hour, she'd kept him so hard he was almost shaking with need. She had completely ignored his looks of warning and his whispers to cut it out and Booth began to realize that something about this situation wasn't right. As much as Brennan was looking forward to playing Angela, she would never get drunk and act like this in front of donors for the Jeffersonian. She respected herself and the institution too much to ever put her reputation or the institution's reputation in jeopardy.

She would never, ever draw the sexual attention of someone like Newman on purpose, which was exactly what she was doing as she practically crawled into Booth's lap. And Newman watched her every move like a wolf watching its prey, just waiting for the instant to take it down. The only logical explanation was that Brennan had been slipped some type of mind altering chemical either in her food or drink and that scared the crap out of Booth. He had watched Newman closely tonight since learning of his fondness for drugging his victims and the guy hadn't gone near Brennan's drink. Their food had all been served at the same time by the head waiter and no one else was acting strange but as Brennan would say, "There's no such thing as coincidence." Unwilling to take any chances, Booth snatched the drink from Brennan's hand just as she slurped up the last sip.

"Hey, I wasn't finished with that," she protested.

"Yes, you were," Booth told her firmly. Turning to the two older couples, he was relieved to see indulgent smiles on their faces as he stood and pulled Brennan to her feet. "Sorry to cut things short, folks, but we've had a long day and it's time we headed off to bed." Booth gave Newman a penetrating, threatening look but the man hadn't taken his eyes off Brennan who had been about to protest their departure until Booth mentioned bed. Grabbing his hand, she barreled across the room, not even bothering with goodbyes, dragging him behind her.

Watching the couple go, Newman hid his fury behind a placid expression as he turned back to the four other people left at the table and picked up the conversation. Inside he was seething. _What could she possibly see in that low class FBI agent?_ He had been on the phone as soon as they reached the resort ordering a background check on Booth. It had only taken his contact an hour to get back to him. After all, when money was no object, you tended to get exemplary, efficient work. According to Booth's colleagues, Brennan and Booth had been involved in a sexual relationship almost as long as they had been partners, although they both denied it. It didn't dawn on Newman to wonder why they had revealed their secret to him when they kept it from friends and family.

Even if they hadn't told him, he would have known immediately they were sleeping together. _You'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to pick up on the intimacy and attraction between the two of them,_ he fumed. He had authorized the person acting in his stead to grease whatever wheels were necessary to have Agent Seeley Booth immediately recalled to Washington on urgent FBI business. He had considered the problem solved and happily prepared for his dinner date with Dr. Brennan.

He had been livid when his contact called back an hour later to let him know he had met with an immovable roadblock and his name was Deputy Director Sam Cullen. _Well, hell, it looked like there were a few honest men left in the world after all._ Cullen had been livid when offered a bribe in the form of an all expense paid three month tour of Europe, something that would have made his wife faint with delight. He had listened to the offer and the suggestion that Booth's time would be better spent back in Washington rather than on the beach rubbing his partner down with suntan lotion. Cullen had then informed the contact that neither he nor Booth were for sale, he would find whoever the hell this was and arrest his ass for attempted bribery of a federal official. Newman wasn't worried about them being able to trace anything back to him, but he was furious that someone would deny him what he wanted. He silently added Cullen to his list of people that would someday pay for thwarting him.

Even knowing that Booth would be accompanying Brennan to dinner, Newman had decided to go with the plan he had already set in motion. The newest chemist who was supplying him with the party favors he always kept on hand to loosen up his more reluctant conquests had assured him that this new formula would not only make the recipient of the drug more open to suggestion, it would increase their libido until all he had to do was sit back and let them have their way. He had bribed the barman, who had huge medical bills due to a daughter with leukemia with cash and the promise of treatment for his daughter in America to spike Brennan's drinks with the drug.

He was pleased with the results of the first drink until he realized that Booth would be reaping the benefits and that was just unacceptable so he had told the man to double the dose in the second drink. It might rev up her libido even more but it would put her out for the night within the next thirty minutes and it would take them almost ten minutes to get back to the cottage. What could they really get up to in the remaining twenty minutes?


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello, people. I apologize but I got called out of town again the night I got home. I hope this chapter helps you forgive me. Please keep up the reviews. Thanks.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

As soon as they walked out the front door of the resort, Booth pulled Brennan to the side of the well lit entrance and turned her to fully face him. Putting a hand under her chin, he lifted her face and closely examined her eyes.

"Are you ok?" he demanded. Her pupils were a little too dilated for his peace of mind. He needed to quickly get her back to their cottage and call the doctor that the hotel kept on staff to examine her and draw some blood that could be tested for drugs.

"I'm great, Booth," she responded with a sultry smile. Grabbing his keys from the valet and taking her hand, he pulled her toward the parking area, not willing to wait for their car to be brought around. But Brennan had other ideas. As soon as they entered the parking structure, she pushed him against the wall and wrapped herself around him.

"What are…?" His words were cut off by her grabbing his bottom lip between her teeth and tugging none too gently. The slight sting was soothed away when her tongue lapped at his bottom lip and then sought entry into his mouth. He didn't have the willpower to deny the request. Within minutes, they were both panting and she had his shirt almost unbuttoned, her short nails lightly scraping the exposed musculature of his chest as she rubbed herself against his prominent erection and continued to voraciously devour his mouth.

Fresh waves of lust were washing over Booth with every touch, every kiss, every moan or groan that issued from her throat and he knew if he didn't calm her down there was no way they would be making it back to their beach cottage anytime soon. They would be too busy having mind blowing sex against the same wall she had shoved him against because if she kept touching him like that, he seriously doubted they would even make it to the car. Even though he was concerned for her welfare, Booth found it almost impossible to grab those pleasure giving hands and force them away from his body and he was absolutely unable to separate their lips without giving her a long, tongue thrusting kiss that had her trying to wrap a leg around his waist.

"Bones, stop," he panted after finally managing to disentangle their tongues. "I think you've been drugged," he told her earnestly as she tried to pull her hands free, intent on returning them to the firmly muscled chest in front of her.

"Don't care," she muttered, leaning in to swipe her tongue over an exposed nipple, then taking it between her teeth. Booth's breath hissed out as his gut clenched and his erection throbbed with each tug on his nipple. Well, obviously the truth wasn't going to work. He'd have to try something else.

Turning loose of one of her hands, he grabbed her chin and forced her gaze up to meet his and thought he was making some progress until she reached out with her free hand and cupped his erection, stroking him firmly through his pants. _Jesus, if he didn't do something other than what his body was currently demanding and fast they would be having sex right here in the parking garage in seconds_. Grabbing her hand and forcing it away from his erection, he leaned down and put his shoulder against her stomach, lifting her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. Ignoring her squeals of protest and demands to be put down, he strode toward their rental car, getting a little concerned when she got really quiet.

He was right to be concerned, he realized seconds later as both of her hands snaked down his back, under his pants and underwear and grabbed the cheeks of his ass. The feel of her soft hands on his butt stopped him in his tracks. It almost dropped him to his knees as his desire ratcheted up to previously unknown levels. Sending a silent prayer of thanks heavenward, Booth noticed they had reached their rental vehicle. Opening the passenger side door, he slid her into the seat of the midsized car, fastened her seatbelt and hurried around to the driver's side.

Just as Booth's butt hit the seat, Brennan's knees landed on either side of his thighs and she lowered herself into his lap. Her mouth landed on his, aggressively urging his lips apart and pushing her tongue into his mouth.

A husky growl freed itself from Booth's throat as he opened his mouth and tangled his tongue with hers. _Just for a second_, he assured himself, _then he would stop, but he needed just one kiss._ Long minutes and many kisses later, he jerked his mouth away from hers while he still could, ignoring how the little whimper of protest she made shot lightning bolts of desire straight to his straining cock. He jerked back the hand that had crept up her thigh and was now kneading one bare buttock while pressing her center more tightly to his aching hardness. He was a little gentler disentangling the hand that hand crept into her hair, laying waste to the upswept do she had sported earlier. Ignoring how his hands itched to return to their explorations, Booth forced them down to his sides, knowing he couldn't trust himself to touch her again.

Gritting his teeth against the demands his body was making, he reminded himself that he would not take advantage of his partner and that he needed to get a grip. It wasn't easy but he finally found enough control to keep his hands off of her but his body was taut with frustration and his emotions were rioting, vacillating between what he knew he should do and what he wanted to do. Especially when she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and went back to kissing him senseless, lightly rubbing her breasts against the exposed skin of his chest. He wanted to cry, to howl in frustration that he had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity to be with her like this and now when she did finally make that kind of move on him there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it. He wanted to unzip his pants, plant himself solidly inside her and let her ride him until they both collapsed from exhaustion more than he had ever wanted anything in his life.

In his mind, taking advantage of his partner when she was in a drugged and not responsible for her actions would be a violation not only of her body, but of her trust, their friendship, their partnership. It would taint everything between them and not even a night of never before know pleasure and sexual satisfaction was worth ruining what they had. _Are you sure it would ruin things?_ questioned his hungry body. _Maybe this is exactly what you two need to put you on the right path. Come on, Booth, you want it, she wants it._ _Just let her unzip your pants and sit back and let her have her way and it really won't be your fault at all_. Shuddering with the effort, Booth ignored his body's insidious, tempting taunts but it was beyond difficult to deny himself something he wanted so badly.

Seeley Booth was an honorable man, he would never take advantage of his partner in a drugged, vulnerable state, he reminded himself desperately, but he was definitely going to shoot Newman right between the eyes for putting him through this. Seeing no other way to get her to stop, Booth had to take the chance of touching her and gingerly put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her back gently and breaking the suction between their mouths. _No,_ Booth decided as Brennan's busy mouth moved to his neck, nipping and licking, _he would start with shooting Newman in both kneecaps and move on from there. A head shot would much_ _too quick and merciful for the creep_. He didn't even know if he could inflict the level of torture on the other man that Brennan was currently treating him to but he was damn sure looking forward to trying.

"Baby, stop, please," he begged, teeth clenching and eyes involuntarily closing again as her mouth moved down his chest and attached itself to one of his nipples while her hips moved in a slow, circular pattern that ground her center against him. _God, he could feel how hot and wet she was through his pants and underwear and knew he had to make her stop._ _NOW_.

He had always thought he would find the level of aggression Brennan was exhibiting a turn off, but his current state of readiness disproved that little presumption. Every cell in his body was buzzing with arousal. His gut was clenched so tightly that it was almost painful, his penis so hard that it throbbed in time with his heartbeat and jerked with every seductive swirl of her hips. He couldn't even grab her hips and hold her still, make her stop the torment because he knew exactly what was under that dress. Panties that were really no barrier at all. He was afraid if he put his hands anywhere near those undulating hips, he would wind up exactly where he wanted to be in no time at all. Planted as deeply into her hot, wet sheath as it was possible to get.

_Not a good thought to be having right now_, Booth realized as his stomach did a somersault and a low, deep groan escaped his lips at the picture the words conjured into his mind. What was he supposed to do when she was crawling all over him, tempting him almost past his level of resistance? _You can do this, Booth. It's just a hard on. It won't kill you_, his conscience assured his lust filled body just in time to keep his hands fisted at his sides and not reaching for the passionate woman who seemed determined to either kill him or drive him insane. Raising a hand to wipe the perspiration off of his brow, he saw his hand was shaking and he knew he couldn't hold out against her aggressive demands much longer. Cupping her face between his palms, he forced her mouth away from his chest and gently tilted it upward until her eyes met his.

"Brennan, stop it," his tone was a little sharper than he had intended but she was making him crazy. Eyes widening at the his use of her name instead of her nickname, her movements stilled at the look of pain and pleading on his face and in his voice and she studied him almost curiously.

"Why, Booth?" she whined. "I know you want to," she informed him before resuming the rocking motion of her hips and grinding herself against his hard on.

_Want to?_ Oh, no, this had moved so far past simple want that it wasn't even funny. Every fiber of his being throbbed with the need to bury himself inside her hot, tight warmth and find the earth shatteringly pleasurable release that he was sure he would find only in this woman's arms. _God, he had been so hard he hurt for the last hour_. It had now moved into the area of excruciating and if she touched him intimately one more time, he didn't know if he could hold it together. He had to do something fast, he decided, just as her hands reached for his belt buckle. Restraining her wandering hands, he leaned down and rested his forehead against hers.

"Just wait until we get back to the cottage," he urged, hoping the implication that they would finish this in more private surroundings would convince her to get back in her seat and let him get them out of here, finding it difficult to meet her eyes when she looked at him suspiciously. Although he hadn't actually specified that anything would happen when they got back to the beach house, he felt like he was lying to her by implying they would finish this later when he had no intention of doing so. He didn't like tricking her but, at this point he was grasping at straws and had to use whatever might work. He would deal with whatever consequences arose as a result of his actions when the time came but he had to get her out of here.

Brennan eyed Booth narrowly. Even her lust addled brain and hungry, throbbing body didn't distract her enough for her to not clearly see that he was trying to trick her written on his face. He had no intention of having sex with her, he was simply trying to placate her and get her to go along with him. Realizing that put a dent in her ardor. Logically concluding that he didn't really want her, his body had simply responded as expected to sexually based stimuli from a reasonably attractive person of the opposite sex put a huge dent in her pride and a crack in her heart.

"You know, Booth, I've never had anyone resist getting laid so hard before. I obviously used faulty logic when evaluating the situation," she told him stiffly as she swung her leg over his lap and moved back into the passenger seat. Booth sighed in relief, then stiffened in alarm as her hand reached for the door handle.

"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded, holding her in place with a steely grip on her arm.

"Back inside, Booth. Let me go and I won't force my unwelcome attention on you anymore." She snapped. Brennan didn't know what was wrong with her. She liked good sex as much as the next woman, but she had always been able to control those biological needs and confine them to a more appropriate time and place. Yes, she had desired Booth for a long time and on a level she had yet to experience with any other man but she had never felt quite like this before. She knew she was out of control, but she couldn't seem to do anything about it. Right now she felt a hunger, a need so deep that her whole body pulsed with it. Every inch of her skin tingled and throbbed, felt as if was stretching in an attempt to contain her desire. She was hot and wet, her moist center throbbing with every beat of her heart. She felt like she was going to explode and not in a good way if she didn't get some relief soon.

Just looking at Booth made her mouth water, her nipples tighten and tingle and sent so much moisture between her legs she was surprised her seat wasn't wet but he obviously wasn't interested, and she would just have to accept that. _Well, that was just fine and dandy with her. Hell, no it wasn't ok with her. It pissed her off royally and it caused her emotional pain that she just didn't have the mental focus to analyze right now. _Her only clear thoughts right now were that she wanted them to explore each other's bodies in every way possible, wanted it with every fiber of her being, but she wasn't about to beg him for it. If she didn't get away from him soon she was afraid she would do just that and she wasn't sure her pride and self respect would survive that. To avoid that scenario, she would go back into the resort, get another room for the night and let Booth go back to the cottage alone if he found her company so distasteful. _She could use some time to herself to take care of her own needs, _she told herself stoutly.

Booth looked at the furious woman beside him in disbelief. He knew it wasn't her fault she was acting the way she was. It had to be the drugs Newman had somehow slipped her, but still he couldn't believe she was hinting that she was going back into the resort to find a stud for the night. _Granted, that wasn't what she'd said, but what else could she mean?_ He was stunned by the force of possessive anger that swept over him, snapping his tightly held control and, no doubt, setting him on the path to hell, but he didn't care. _Hell, no, he was the only one who would be taking care of her needs, carnal or otherwise._ Turning her to face him a little more roughly than he had intended, he grabbed one of her hands and pulled it to his steel hard erection.

"Does that feel like your attentions are unwelcome? Like I don't like it?" he demanded, just as furious as she had been seconds earlier. She couldn't stop her hand from curving around the contours of his penis and stroking any more than he could help his eyes fluttering closed and the hiss of pleasure that left his lips at the caress.

"Then why?" she asked plaintively. Without even realizing it, they were leaning closer and closer to each other.

"I won't take advantage of you, Bones," he told her solemnly and she adored him for being so determined to protect her even from herself but she wished his damn honor would take a long walk off a short pier for the next couple of hours. His words made her reevaluate her earlier doubts about him being attracted to her, Dr. Temperence Brennan and not just a reasonably attractive female body and gave her hope. Her libido instantly revved back in high gear.

"Then don't, Booth. Let me take advantage of you," she encouraged just as their foreheads came together. He couldn't hold back his groan at her suggestion but she could see the answer in his eyes.

"Fine. Let's just go," she snapped, unable to be gracious about it. Nodding, he decided to get her home while the getting was good. He could see that, presumably because of the drugs, she was wound so tightly she was about to snap. She genuinely needed the tension relief of great sex and in different circumstances, he would have been happy to drag her off to bed and keep her there for days, but not like this. _He would not take advantage of her_, he lectured himself firmly. Would it be taking advantage if you just gave her some relief without asking for anything in return? asked his inner voice. _I think not, my man. In fact, that would be a truly selfless act and God rewards those who are selfless. _Booth's hands clenched tightly on the steering wheel as he ignored his inner voice. He knew it was only his subconscious acknowledging his own desires but, God, it was tempting.

Arriving back at the cottage minutes later, Brennan slammed out of the car and stomped into the house. Booth followed at a more leisurely pace, immediately picking up the phone and requesting to speak with the house physician. His eyes hungrily followed Brennan's every movement as she stalked into the bedroom, slamming the door so hard it bounced back open. Wincing at the display of temper, Booth heard her muttering angrily to herself just as the doctor came on the line.

Booth introduced himself to the man who identified himself as Dr. Samuels. Having no idea who was trustworthy this far from home, Booth had already decided to keep the information he gave the doctor general, giving him just enough to let him accurately assess Brennan's condition without going into details that could be repeated and get back to Newman that they were on to him. Unfortunately for Booth, Dr. Samuels could smell bullshit a mile away and just didn't have the patience to deal with people who weren't going to be straight with him.

"Agent Booth, if you're not going to be honest with me, then I suggest you take your friend to the emergency room to be examined because I can't help you without all the facts," he told Booth firmly. Booth frowned at the phone, impressed that the man knew over the phone that he was holding back. He was determined to get Brennan checked out and they needed blood samples to prove she had been drugged. As pissed as she was with him at the moment, he knew his chances of convincing her to go to the emergency room were slim to none so that left him with limited choices. One choice actually, level with Dr. Samuels.

"I think she was drugged at dinner." Booth told him flatly, expecting to hear denials or ridicule of his premise.

"Ah, I see," Booth was a little surprised at Samuel's easy acceptance of his explanation. "Can I assume that you think the drug used was of the variety to make your friend more amenable to sexual advances?" Samuels asked, his voice echoing with disgust and anger at what some people were capable of.

"I think that would be a fair assessment," Booth agreed.

"Unfortunately, Agent Booth, this being such a popular tourist area, I see far more of those types of situations than I would like. I will be happy to examine your friend but it will be at least forty-five minutes before I can get there. I'm assisting with transporting one of the guests who had an anaphylactic reaction to the hospital and it will take me that long to get back to the resort." Booth liked the no nonsense attitude of the doctor but he was a little concerned about the time frame.

"Will it be okay for her to wait that long?" he questioned anxiously.

"Agent Booth, without a physical examination and blood work, I have no way of knowing exactly what was used on her. There are multiple variations of that type of drug, but they usually metabolize quickly and should leave her system fairly quickly. She will probably be passing out very soon." Booth hated that he felt a rush of relief at Samuels' reassurances and not just because it sounded as if Brennan was going to be fine. If she passed out, she couldn't tempt him anymore and she had just about pushed him past him limits already. _They would both be saved from doing something she might regret in the light of day,_ he told himself, trying to ignore the sense of loss he felt at knowing she wouldn't be crawling all over him again tonight. Samuels' next words brought him up short and had him reevaluating that possibility.

"You'll need to keep a very close eye on her, Agent Booth. I also need to stress that you should not upset her in any way. These types of drugs tend to elevate the heart rate and blood pressure, putting the victims at risk of heart attack or stroke if they become agitated on top of the drugs." Hearing Booth's indrawn breath, Samuels hurried on, "It's unlikely to happen in someone who is young and healthy but it is a possibility, so you need to do whatever you have to do to keep her calm and relaxed until she goes to sleep." Booth lost his ability to speak as he realized this doctor had just ordered him to have sex with Brennan for her own good. Granted that wasn't exactly what Samuels had said, but Booth would be willing to bet the only way he was going to be able to keep her "calm and relaxed" was to give her what she wanted. What they both wanted. His body was cheering, urging him to hang up the phone and go make sure Brennan was ok, just like the doctor had ordered. Booth knew he was in big trouble when his conscience didn't pipe in and object and various scenarios of just how he could help his partner began to play out in his head. Samuels broke into the erotic thoughts running through Booth's mind.

"Are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm still here but she's pretty agitated tonight, doc, and I'm not sure I can calm her down," Booth admitted, hearing the background noise he'd noticed since the start of his conversation with Samuels increase.

"I'm sorry, Agent Booth, but we've just arrived at the hospital and I have to go. I can only tell you that it would be in your friend's best interest, health wise to minimize her agitation. If you're unwilling to do whatever is necessary to keep her calm, then I must, once again, suggest you bring her to the hospital." Samuels's voice echoed with impatience.

"No, I'll do it," Booth muttered, running an agitated hand through his hair. _Somehow he would find a way to keep her calm without compromising her and their partnership_, Booth promised himself, disregarding his body's displeasure at realizing it would not be getting the relief it craved. Not from the person who had put him in this state, anyway. Unaware of Booth's inner struggle, Samuels sighed, sorry he had been short with the man who was obviously very worried about the well being of someone he cared for deeply. Before Samuels could offer an apology, his current patient was rolled through the emergency room doors and he really had to go. This patient's life was literally on the line and he could apologize for bad manners later.

"Look, Agent Booth, all you have to do is entertain her for less than an hour. How hard can that be?" Samuels was trying to be reassuring, but would have known that he missed the mark by a mile if he could have seen Booth's reaction to his words.

Booth pulled the phone, which was now broadcasting a dial tone indicating that the doctor had dropped his bombshell and hung up on him, away from his ear and looked at it in disbelief. _How hard could it be? _ Pretty damn hard_,_ Booth decided, reaching down and adjusting himself for comfort. _Was Samuels freaking kidding him with his medical advice?_ Yes, Samuels had urged him to keep Brennan calm and relaxed by whatever means necessary but Booth was certain that the helpful doctor had no idea what he was suggesting. _Does it really matter if the doctor didn't know what he was suggesting? He told you what you had to do and you promised to do it,_ taunted Booth's inner voice. Yes and he would do anything within his power to help or protect his partner just like he had done for years. _There you go then_, his inner voice was crowing in victory now. _You know what you have to do to help her_.

Ignoring his inner voice and ruthlessly clamping down on that little part of himself that was whispering he now had no choice but to have mind blowing sex with his partner for her own benefit, of course, Booth mentally reviewed the other instructions he had received from Samuels. Suddenly noting the silence coming from the bedroom, Booth's head came up and his eyes widened as he recalled he was supposed to be keeping a close eye on her. Striding across the room, he slowed and approached the bedroom door warily. As bad as it sounded, he almost hoped she was passed out already and this torture would be over. No such luck, his torture had apparently just begun.


	12. Chapter 12

**Ok, guys, here you go. Please forgive me the length but it was necessary. Now, I'm off to celebrate Christmas with my family. Happy Holidays everyone and remember that all I want for Christmas is a lot of reviews. **

**Disclaimer: They're not mine but for this chapter they wish they were.**

Stepping silently into the bedroom, he was just in time to see her rip the partially unzipped dress off her body and toss it aside angrily. Catching his movement from the corner of her eye, she spun around, standing before him proudly, wearing only a thong, thigh high stockings and 3" heels. She didn't even try to cover her luscious body from his eyes, glaring at him and spreading her arms wide, daring him to look his fill. And look he did, the heat in his eyes almost searing her skin even from across the room, as his eyes took a slow visual survey of the body he had lusted after for years.

They took in the beautiful face flushed with arousal and anger, the tousled auburn hair falling around her shoulders and the snapping blue eyes currently spitting daggers at him. Moving down, his eyes lovingly followed the long, graceful curve of her neck to the slopes of her generous breasts. He had seen her in the almost not there bikini earlier and had even caught a glimpse of her bare breasts when he had walked in on her getting dressed, but those two things couldn't compare with her standing before him, unabashedly inviting his inspection and not trying to hide it when her nipples tightened and distended from just his eyes on her.

Loving that he could wring that kind of response out of her with just a heated gaze across the room, Booth unconsciously took a couple of steps forward, halting when she took two steps back. He didn't like that she was moving away from him, but he guessed he couldn't really blame her, considering the circumstances. Unable to stop his visual inspection, his eyes moved over the flat, toned planes of her stomach and lingered for long seconds on the peach colored triangle of silk and lace that covered her mound before moving down the mile long legs to her slender feet. Slowly reversing the path of his eyes, he was breathing hard and clenching his fists, battling hard to control his body's response to her as his eyes finally lifted to meet hers. His breath caught in his throat at the deepening flush on her cheeks and the glitter of desire shining from those compelling blue eyes.

"Like what you see, Booth?" she taunted, her voice echoing the emotions swirling in her eyes. Brennan had promised herself she wouldn't do anything else to try to get him into bed, she would simply put on her pajamas, climb into bed and pray that when she awoke in the morning this would all just be a bad dream. Failing that she would just have to make it clear to Booth that she had no intention of discussing her aberrant behavior. Ever. And she had thought she would be able to follow through until she had turned to see Booth standing in the bedroom doorway looking at her with eyes hot enough to melt steel.

Still almost trembling with desire, she had turned to face him and invited him to look his fill, her pride demanding that she show him he had no effect on her. It didn't quite work out that way as his eyes stroked her body like a physical caress. She couldn't stop her involuntary responses, flushed face, distended nipples, renewed surges of arousal flowing freely from her tightening abdomen directly to her core to settle into a deep, throbbing need that pressing her thighs together tightly did nothing to relieve.

She could clearly see that Booth was having a strong physical response to her as well. His breathing became almost labored and erratic, his fists clenched and unclenched at his sides as if fighting the desire to reach for her, his face was flushed and she didn't even think he was aware that he was licking his lips. The front of his pants were even more distended than earlier if that were possible, but his reluctance to act on those desires had her beyond confused by the signals he was sending out.

The logical, rational scientist in her told her to immediately stop this unacceptable behavior, remove herself from Booth's presence until she had her iron control back and forget this ever happened. The hungry, horny, agitated woman who felt she had been rejected by the man standing in front of her bitch slapped the scientist into submission and told Brennan to continue. To Brennan's lust and drug fogged mind, this sounded like a fine idea. She had pretty much given up on getting laid and if she couldn't have the round of hot, sweaty sex that she wanted, she was willing to settle for a rip roaring fight. One thing was for sure, Booth was going to suffer as much as she did. She would make sure of that.

Getting no response, Brennan shot a quick look at Booth's face, giving a husky laugh of delight when she saw his attention was focused on her body and not her words. _Enough of that_, she decided, casually leaning down and scooping up her short, silky robe and shrugging into it, covering her body and knotting the belt loosely at her waist. She ignored how her skin was so sensitized that the brush of the robe against her made it burn for the touch of firm warm hands gliding over every inch of her and concentrated on Booth. If she wanted him to fight with her, she had to get his attention back on her words at least long enough to make him mad, but first she was going to get comfortable. Kicking off her heels, she went to the bed and propped her right leg up on its surface, slowly rolling the stocking down her leg, not even paying any attention to Booth for the moment.

But Booth was paying attention to her. Even though they were now covered, it took Booth a moment to pull his eyes away from her breasts and when he did, he thought the top of his head was going to blow off as his eyes hungrily followed her hands, smoothing the silk stockings down those mile long legs. As she bent over further, her robe rode up to reveal the lower curves of her ass and he closed his eyes, unable to stop the groan that felt like it came straight from his soul. _Just how much longer was she going to torture him?_ _Please, God, let her pass out soon,_ he prayed. Yes, he knew that was a shitty thing to pray for but if she didn't they were going to have much bigger problems than they did at present. Mainly, how he was going to explain a night of hot, monkey sex to his partner.

Booth saw her head come up at his groan and the calculating gleam that came into her eyes and, strangely, something he remembered from one of the television shows he used to watch as a kid echoed through his head. _Danger, Will Robinson, danger. Run, Will Robinson, run._ Booth knew it was good advice, but he found his body frozen in place, unable to turn away from his partner's little striptease, no matter how hard it made things on him.

"You know, Booth," she purred, finished with the first stocking and swapping out the leg that was propped on the bed, "if you don't like the show, you can always go in the other room." She paused to give him time to answer but he was incapable of speech as his eyes followed the slow glide of the second stocking down her leg. Peeling it off and tossing it aside, Brennan straightened and waited for Booth to meet her eyes. Ignoring the lust shooting out of his and warming her across the room, she shot him a flirty grin. "Unless that's what you like. Is that what you like, Booth?" She batted wide, innocent blue eyes at him.

Booth shook his head, trying to clear it, to make sense of what she was saying. He had no idea what she was talking about, but, in her current state, he knew it couldn't be good for him. As her hands went to the belt of her robe, he knew he was in deep, deep trouble. "Stop it, Bones," he whispered desperately, unable to tear his eyes away from her fingers toying with the loose knot in her belt, knowing that if she dropped that robe again, he was toast. He might as well have saved his breath for all the attention she paid to him.

"Do you like to watch, Booth?" she reiterated her question, walking to the end of the bed so he had a clear view of her and looked at him assessingly. He swallowed hard at that look. "I never really took you for a voyeur," she told him conversationally, loosening the belt inch by agonizing inch, allowing the sides of the robe to fall to where they were no longer overlapping but were still touching so his view of that beautiful body was still blocked. "You just don't act like the kind of man who would rather look than touch, but I've been wrong about men before." The self disgust in her voice as she acknowledged her poor choices in men snagged Booth's attention and dragged him back from the edge of losing his cool.

"I'm not a voyeur, Bones," Booth told her softly, not sure why it was so important to him for her to know that but it was.

"Really?" she purred, the light of challenge in her big, blue eyes. Booth groaned, knowing he needed to change the subject. Fast. She didn't give him a chance. "So, if I took off this robe, climbed up on the bed and started touching myself, you wouldn't like it at all?" she teased, the belt now undone as her hands moved to the sides of her robe and inched them apart. Booth knew he had to do something. He just wasn't sure what his best option was. If she dropped that robe, he would be on her in seconds, despite his good intentions. He wasn't sure the results would be any better if he put his hands on her to keep the robe on but he had to give it a try.

Striding over, he grabbed her wrists, not noticing that he kept walking, forcing her backward until she bumped into the wall. Pulling her arms up, he held her wrists in place on either sides of her head, ignoring her narrow eyed glare and sputters of protest. It took every ounce of willpower he had to keep his eyes from drifting down to the parts of her body revealed by the now separated sides of her robe. The urge to strip her bare and take her where she stood was so strong, tremors were running through his body and sweat beaded on his forehead. "Stop it, Bones," he demanded, his voice shaking with the force of his desire.

"No," she practically spat at him, enraged that he had stopped her little game. She was getting foggier and foggier by the second, she couldn't really remember why she was doing what she was, just that it was important and she needed to continue. She was beyond making rational choices at this point, driven only by her desires. Furiously attempting to escape his grip, she twisted against him, gasping when one of her nipples came into contact with his hard, warm chest where he hadn't bothered to button his shirt back up from her earlier handiwork. "If you don't want to watch, Booth, you don't have to watch. Just walk away," she taunted. She was desperate to get him away from her before she broke down and just begged him to take her to bed. Even in her current state, she knew she would never be able to live with that.

Almost out of his mind with desire, Booth pressed his body firmly against Brennan's, pinning her to the wall to stop the twisting torment she was currently putting him through. Pulling her arms above her head and transferring both of her wrists to one big hand, he ignored the demands of his body and tilted her head up toward him, wanting to laugh at the little girl pout on her lips. Sighing, he leaned down until his forehead touched hers. "I can't walk away, Bones. Don't you understand? Walking away from you is the one thing I could never, ever do," he told her softly. "And as much as I want to make love with you, Bones, it shouldn't happen like this." His eyes never left hers as his thumb lovingly stroked her cheek and ran over her lips. Slowly, he saw the anger melt from her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fine," he had to laugh at the snap in her voice, she didn't like not getting her way regardless of the circumstances. "You can let me go now, Booth," she sighed, trying to free her wrists. Booth didn't budge, using just enough pressure to hold her still but not hurt her.

"Are you going to behave yourself now?" he asked seriously. Tilting her head to the side in a move that told him she was considering all angles of something before making up her mind, she bit her bottom lip and frowned up at him.

"Are you going to let me go if I say no?" she asked suspiciously and Booth laughed.

"I don't know. Are you going to be good?"

"Probably not," she sighed honestly, her shoulders slumping in defeat. Laughing again, Booth released her wrists and cupped her face in his palms, surprised and a little disappointed when her hands fell to rest on his chest but didn't wander any further. Noting her drooping eyelids, he knew she was about to be out for the count.

"We should get you tucked in," Booth told her with a grin, thinking he was out of the woods. He was wrong.

"Are you offering to come to bed with me?" she asked throatily, sliding her hands up his chest and locking them around his neck, trying to kiss him.

"Do you really think that's a good idea, Bones?" he asked, lifting his head so she couldn't reach his mouth. She didn't seem to mind as her teeth and lips went to work on his ear and neck.

"Umm, I think that is an outstanding idea, Booth," she murmured directly into his ear, sending a shiver down his spine.

Booth hoped you couldn't really die from unrelieved desire, but right now he just didn't know for sure. He certainly felt like the woman in his arms was going to be the death of him, his body had never been this hot or hard for anyone else and he felt like he had been this way for days. He knew he should step away from her but he didn't want to piss her off again. Doctor Samuels had stressed the importance of keeping her calm. He was just following the doctor's orders, doing what he had to for his partner's well being. _Besides, he was certain she would be passing out before this went much further and making her angry would just delay that process,_ he justified to himself. _Riigghhtt,_ his conscience piped in, _this has nothing to do with the fact that she has you so tied up in knots that she could probably make you come with one stroke. _ Ok, fine, maybe his motives weren't quite so altruistic as he had first made out but he just didn't have the willpower to back away from her again, he needed this little bit of heaven just as badly as she did and he would stop it before it went too far. He only intended to kiss her a little, get her into bed where she would relax and hope she passed out quickly. He ignored his conscience's scathing laughter at the stupidity of his plan and it's telling him there was no way that he could control his reaction to the gorgeous doctor. _His conscience was wrong_, he assured himself, _he could control both of them and not let things get out of hand._

Brennan pushed the now unbuttoned shirt off his shoulders and he let her. He had no intention of them fully consummating the act but he just wasn't selfless enough to forego the pleasure of skin to skin contact. Shrugging out of her robe, Brennan pressed her naked chest lightly against his, groaning with the sensations that her pebbled nipples rubbing against his hard chest sent straight to her center. With a growl, Booth jerked her against his hard chest and took her mouth in a hot, openmouthed, wet kiss of possession, his resistance crumbling to dust.

Almost sobbing with the hope that she was going to finally get some relief from the desire that had her body in such a tight grip, Brennan wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his drugging kisses. Her body was on fire from the inside out and everywhere her skin came into contact with Booth's it felt like little tingles of electricity were shooting from his skin to hers. Her nipples ached as she rubbed them against the hard muscles of his chest and she felt like she was going to go insane if he wasn't inside of her in the next thirty seconds. Her hands went to the waistband of his pants and his belt, button and zipper were dispensed with before he could stop her. Catching her hand just as it intruded into his boxers, he broke away from her avid mouth long enough to shake his head at her.

"No, the pants stay on," he insisted. It was the only way he could be sure that he didn't do anything they would both regret later. If his pants came off, he would be inside of her in a heartbeat and he knew it. As much as he wanted to be honorable enough to walk away from the passionate woman in his arms, he just wasn't. He had known the instant he touched her again that if she put the moves on him again, he wouldn't be able to let her go, he would give her the relief she so desperately craved but he would make sure that their first experience of truly making love was not now.

She pulled back to look at him in disbelief, not noticing he had backed her to the edge of the king sized bed. _Dammit, if he was messing with her this time, she would take his gun away from him and shoot him with it._ Accurately reading the look on her face, he grinned and gave her a gentle push that sent her bouncing backward on the bed, immediately following her down, his hands already aching to be back on her just from that instant's separation. Now knowing his conscience was right, that he couldn't control his response to her, didn't give him the strength to pull away from her. Neither did the fear of ruining what they had now. They were both too far gone to pull back and stop this thing. Silently praying that Brennan would forgive him, Booth shut down his brain and let his body take over, reveling in the sensations that being this close and personal with his partner roused in him.

Brennan's head was spinning a little as she bounced on the bed, but she didn't care. All she cared about was Booth joining her and putting out the fire that was raging through her body. Joining her on the bed, he came to lie beside her and she didn't like that at all. Whimpering her displeasure, she tried to pull him on top of her but just didn't have the strength.

"Don't be in such a hurry, Bones," he urged, reaching out and running a single finger around an already distended nipple while leaning over and kissing her voraciously. Knowing he might never get the chance again, Booth intended to take his time exploring the body before him. He was already more turned on than he had ever been in his life, already as hard and hot as he could possibly get so it wasn't like it was going to make him hurt worse to take his time stroking the impossibly, soft, silky skin. He wanted to remember everything about her, her touch, taste, feel, those little whimpering sounds she made when he stroked a particularly sensitive spot, how she looked and sounded as she came apart in his arms. Everything.

_Don't be in such a hurry? Was he freaking kidding her_? She felt like she had been wound up for weeks, months, as if every ounce of desire she had ever felt for this man had coalesced into the burning, throbbing need arching her body toward him as his lips left hers and slowly moved down her neck and chest to stop at her breasts. Sucking a nipple deeply into the recesses of his mouth, he captured the other one between his thumb and forefinger, rolling and squeezing. Brennan almost came off the bed. Grasping his hair with her hands, she held him to her more firmly as she panted her need.

"Please, Booth. I need to..ah," her voice drifted off as he popped that nipple out of his mouth and moved to the other one. Even though she hadn't fully formed her request, he knew what she was asking for and he knew the feeling. He needed to come, too, but this really wasn't about him. This was about her.

Feasting on her breasts, one hand glided down her abdomen, sliding under the flimsy excuse for panties she was wearing and found her sopping wet and hotter even than he had expected. Booth's whole body clenched as his fingers combed through auburn curls and found her swollen and throbbing clit. Stroking it lightly with his thumb, his fingers continued their foray, running up and down her moist slit before dipping just one finger inside. Brennan went wild, barely stifling a scream as her hips lifted completely off the bed and pumped frantically against his hand.

Booth also went a little wild at the feel of her hot, tight sheath closing around a single finger. Booth knew she would be a very tight fit for his penis and just the thought almost sent him over the edge. It didn't help that her hand snaked down the front of his underwear and closed around his aching cock the same instant that his finger thrust into her. Hissing his pleasure, Booth was unable to stop the thrusting motion of his own hips as her hand slid firmly up and down, stroking him from base to tip in perfect rhythm to his finger inside her. Dropping his forehead to hers, he waited for her to look at him.

"No, Bones," he told her, using his free hand to try to dislodge her hot, busy little hand from his penis, but she wouldn't let go.

"Fair's fair, Booth," she insisted but it was the, "please, Booth. I want to," that decided him to let her have her way.

Coming up on a forearm, he leaned over her more fully, pressing his chest against her and giving her more access to his body. With a groan at the increased contact, he leaned down and took her mouth in a kiss that made her whimper with the passionate need behind it. At the same time he pushed a second finger inside her, swallowing her scream and giving back his own gasping groan as her fingers tightened and her hand moved faster and faster on his throbbing erection.

Brennan couldn't have told you the name of a single bone in the body if her life had depended on it. She could tell you that Booth's kisses made her hotter than she had ever been in her life, that he unerringly found her erogenous zones and was fast hurtling her toward a spectacular orgasm. She could tell you that touching and kissing him turned her on as much as him touching her that she wanted, for the first time ever, to give more pleasure than she received. She was by no means a selfish lover but she had never been willing to forego her own pleasure so she could just watch her lover's reaction to her touches and kisses, to drive them up and over the edge with no thought to her own needs just to see their face as she made them come. She could tell you that she very much wanted to do that with Booth. Just not tonight, tonight she wanted them to come together. The rest they would get to later.

Booth felt his orgasm gathering from every cell in his body and moving toward his twitching erection as Brennan's hot little hand stroked him faster and harder, her thumb swiping over the slit with every stroke then firmly grazing the nerve on the underside of his penis with every damn stroke. He shuddered with the effort to hold back his orgasm. No way was he coming first. He could feel her getting tighter and tighter with every stroke of his fingers and knew she was close, probably almost as close as he was and suddenly he wanted nothing more than for them to come together. Reluctantly pulling his mouth from hers, he leaned down and took a plump nipple between his teeth, biting down lightly enough to give pleasure but not to hurt, then sucked it deeply into his mouth. He watched almost in awe as Brennan's head thrashed back and forth on the pillow, her mouth open in a silent scream as she panted for breath. But she never turned loose of her grip on his penis or slowed her rhythm. Talk about multitasking. She was a real pro.

Brennan felt the beginnings of her orgasm deep in her core and these were in no way related to the flutters she was used to feeling. This feeling was much closer to the force of the ocean as the tide rolled in than flutters. The feeling built and built until her whole body felt so tight, so taut that one touch would shatter her into a million pieces and she might never be whole again, but she didn't care. She wanted what came next with a hunger she had never felt before. And Booth gave it her, just as she had known he would. His thumb firmly flicked her clit as his fingers thrust inside her again and again, dragging against her sensitive flesh and suddenly she was there, where she had needed to be for a lifetime or so it seemed. Bursts of color flashed behind her eyelids as her body stiffened.

"Open your eyes, Baby. I want to watch you come," Booth commanded and Brennan mindlessly obeyed, opening her eyes and looking straight into his almost black eyes blazing with desire and satisfaction that he was responsible for what she was feeling right now.

Unable to hold back any longer, she struggled to keep her eyes open and on his as she was shattered by a climax much stronger than anything that had ever come before. Calling his name as her internal muscles clamped down on his fingers so tightly that he could barely move them and moisture flowed over those same fingers, she felt the tension that had had her in such a brutal grip dissipate. She felt wonderful, sexually satiated, almost bonelessly relaxed, and very, very sleepy but she could feel the tension still radiating from her partner and she couldn't have that, not after the orgasm he had just given her.

Booth watched his partners face as she reached satisfaction and he had never seen anything more beautiful. He wanted to see her like this every day for the rest of his life. In his bed with her eyes dark and unfocused as he took her breath away and she came apart in his arms, over and over again. He continued the thrusting of his fingers, slowing his rhythm as she rode out her orgasm and easing her down. He regretfully withdrew them just as she turned her attention to him.

Pushing him onto his back, Brennan came up on her elbow and gave him such a sexy grin that he knew she had more of her special brand of torture in store for him. But that was ok, he was tough, he could take whatever she dished out. Or so he thought.

Pulling her replete body up, Brennan threw a leg over Booth and straddled him, settling herself firmly atop his twitching penis. Booth groaned as he felt her hot, wet center even through the barrier of his pants and underwear. In that instant, he wanted nothing more than to strip off his remaining clothes and let her ride them both into oblivion and if that's what she asked of him, he was hers for the taking. And take him she did, leaning forward and bracing her hands on the bed on either side of his head, she lowered her torso and brushed her breasts back and forth across his chest, swallowing his groan at the contact as she took his mouth in a kiss of absolute possession. She was staking her claim on him just as he had done earlier and they both understood exactly what she was doing.

"What do you want, Booth?" she enquired as she nibbled on his lower lip.

"You, Bones. I just want you," he whispered into her mouth as his hand tangled in her hair and pulled her head down for a deep, wet, open mouthed kiss that left them both gasping for air when they finally broke apart. Meeting his eyes, Brennan could see he was telling her the truth and the feelings this generated in her had nothing to do with lust. They had everything to do with love and caring and friendship and the desire to please the person you valued more than yourself. And that's what she set out to do, bring him more pleasure than he had ever known with anyone else. Jealously, Brennan wanted to erase everyone that had come before her from his mind and let him know that no one could please him like she could.

She achieved her goal with attention to detail as she kissed her way down his neck, nipping and sucking at his ear and the little spot behind it that always made him shudder when she touched him there. Pleased with his gasping groans and the way his hips thrust upward against the hard, circular motions she was making with her hips, she moved to his chest, running the tip of her tongue over the delineations of each individual muscle until she came to his nipples. She paid special attention to them, licking, lightly biting and sucking on them until Booth was writhing under her, begging her to move lower and let him come. With a smile she licked her way down his stomach.

Booth had thought he couldn't get more turned on than he already was. He was very, very wrong he found out as her hands and lips played his body like a well tuned instrument. She seemed to instinctively know just where to touch and caress him to inflame him even further, her movements slow and erotic. Then again, this was Bones. He found her bending over a dead guy on her tables in the labs erotic, so he really shouldn't be surprised that he thought her all naked and wet and basically riding him almost to orgasm erotic. He lost his train of thought as she kissed her way down his chest and almost drove him insane with need as she played with his sensitive nipples, never slowing the slow grind of her center against his aching erection. Taut and aching, his gut in a knot of need tighter than he had ever felt before, he begged her to let him find the same release he had given her, holding his breath as she licked her way down his stomach and lower.

Brennan reached the barrier of his pants and underwear and looked at him. "Take them off," she demanded and he hustled to obey, lifting his hips as she stripped his pants and underwear off and tossed them aside. Settling herself between his open thighs, she turned her attention to his erection. She could hardly miss it. It was standing tall and proud, long and thick and twitching as she looked her fill then reached out to circle it with her fingers, swiping the bead of moisture from its tip and stroking it long and hard.

Booth's head fell back and his eyes drifted shut as every cell of his body focused on the pleasure starting in his cock and radiating outward. _God, he wanted her to climb on and ride him. He wanted to flip her on her back and thrust into her hard and fast until she screamed for mercy. He wanted her mouth on him. He wanted his mouth on her. He wanted everything but he_ _didn't want her to stop what she was doing to give it to him. _

He had never felt like this before. Of course, he had wanted and even thought he needed a woman before, but he had never needed anyone like he needed Brennan right now. It transcended the sexual and trespassed into knowing she was the other half of him. Without her he had no future. That thought was clear in his mind until he felt the tip of her tongue stroke across his penis, lapping up the drop of moisture there. That wiped every thought from his head and he just felt as her hot, moist mouth encircled the tip of his cock and moved slowly downward, swallowing him inch by delicious inch.

Brennan was not unaffected by touching Booth. She was gripped by an arousal that was just as intense as it had been before, fed by each stoke of her hands and mouth on his hot, firm flesh. And by the stokes of his hands on her body as he kneaded her breasts, pinching, licking and sucking on her pebbled nipples and sending darts of desire straight to her core. And by the way his hands gripped her hips and forced her down against his erection as he thrust upward. If his pants weren't in the way, she would have taken him inside her in a heartbeat, but she had found it strangely erotic and challenging to bring him to orgasm without penetration being an option. But it was an option now, she knew as she stroked an erection so big her fingers wouldn't fit all the way around it, and she had every intention of taking him inside her. Her center flooded with moisture and an aching throb set up deep in her core at just the thought. Yes, she was going to ride him but first she was going to taste him. Leaning forward, she lapped up the drop of moisture from his tip and took him inside her mouth, determined to suck him dry.

Booth couldn't control the way his hips thrust upward as she set up a fast hard rhythm with her mouth moving up and down on him. And the way she used her tongue, licking and swirling over his aching flesh, paying special attention to the sensitive nerve that ran the length of his penis. The part of his cock that wouldn't fit in her mouth was encircled by her hot hand as she firmly stroked him in time to his cock sliding in and out of her avid mouth. _God, she was good_, Booth thought almost out of his mind with the need to find release. _And he wasn't going to last long_. _Thank God,_ he needed to come, to find release as he never had before and it was going to be good he knew, the best he'd ever had. Burying his hand in her hair, he gently urged her on.

Brennan knew he was close and increased her speed and suction as she stroked him with her tongue. She was close too, straddling his leg and grinding her clit against his firm thigh had her almost, but not quite there. Reaching down, she stroked her clit firmly to the same pace she was using with her mouth, feeling her core tighten as the first flutters of orgasm hit her.

Booth was so close, his whole body was bowed toward the mouth that was bringing him such pleasure and he knew a couple more strokes of that tongue would do it for him, but he was wrong. It was feeling Brennan reaching down and stroking her clit that did him in. He could clearly see her doing that in his mind and that picture threw him over the edge into an orgasm the gathered from every cell of his body and rushed to his cock, exploding into her greedy mouth. Calling her name, Booth instinctively pushed her head down as he thrust upward and emptied himself, the pleasure of that act seeming to go on forever and reaching previously unknown levels as she continued to lick and suck him, easing him down from his high. Booth knew she had also reached satisfaction as she stiffened and cried out, the vibrations of that cry seeming to move from his penis to every part of his body. With one last lick, Brennan released his cock and smiled up at him. Reaching for her, Booth pulled her up to lie on his chest, bending his head to kiss her tenderly and deeply.

Yawning, she rested her head on his chest. "I want to do that again, Booth. But next time, I want you inside me," she murmured sleepily, "but I just need to rest for a minute first," her voice drifted off as her eyes closed. Booth knew she was out for the count when she relaxed against him and her breathing deepened. Shifting, he eased her to his side, gently sliding her head onto a pillow and pulling the sheet and comforter over her body, his eyes taking one last, long survey of what lay before him.

Booth had though he was spent for the night after the orgasm his partner had just given him but her words of wanting him inside her had brought him to half mast. The feel of her body against him and taking a good long look at that body had done the rest of the job. _What the hell was wrong with him?_ She had just given him a mind blowing orgasm and he was already hard again. He was used to being hard around his partner. It had become a way of life for him and he had long ago learned he couldn't control it. Hell, he had come to expect it, but he had thought making love with her would relieve that sexual tension not make it worse. _Guess that was something else he was wrong about_, he mused as he slipped into bed beside his sleeping partner and pulled her close. He knew the doctor was coming and he needed to get dressed and put a t-shirt on Brennan to preserve her modesty, but right now he needed to take a minute and hold his future in his arms.


	13. Chapter 13

**I know this isn't what you guys are expecting, but Musie is in an angsty snit because my story got deleted on another site and this is what she gave me. I hope you like it. Please keep the reviews coming. I need Musie to calm down and they usually put her in a good mood. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

Booth awoke with a soft, warm woman in his arms. It had been so long since that happened that it took him a moment to remember where he was. As soon as he looked down and saw his partner's face relaxed in sleep, everything came back to him. _God, last night had been fantastic, but he wasn't sure how he felt about it this morning._ Had he taken advantage of his partner? Used the excuse of the doctor telling him to keep her calm at all costs to satisfy his own raging desire? He honestly didn't know and had to wonder what that said about him as a person. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was really early, only 5:30, the sun wasn't even up yet. Rubbing a hand over his face, he debated getting up but the doctor had assured him that Brennan would be out for at least twelve hours and it had only been about 7 hours so he had some time. Deciding he wasn't ready to give up holding her yet, he pulled her closer and closed his eyes, going back to sleep.

The doctor had shown up as promised last night. He was very professional and as straight forward and outspoken as Booth had expected him to be after their phone conversation. He had examined Brennan and assured Booth that she was fine, that the deep sleep she was in was a side effect of the drugs she had apparently been given. He had drawn her blood so it could be tested and Booth had requested that he draw a separate tube that he could send back to the Jeffersonian for testing. The doctor had looked at him oddly but had done as he requested, telling Booth how the blood needed to be stored until it was sent for testing. Booth had many, many questions. Unfortunately, the doctor had very few answers until he processed the blood and found out exactly what they were dealing with. He had promised to put a rush on the blood and stop by and check on Brennan in the morning. Then he had left them alone.

Booth had stood at the sliding glass doors for a long time, looking out at the ocean and brooding. He had just had the most amazing sexual experience of his life. It wasn't really surprising to him that it had been with his partner as he had fantasies of just that every single day of his life. The surprising part was how hard she had come after him. He had to wonder if it was just the drugs and she would have been that way with any man who was available. It made him almost sick to his stomach to think that but he couldn't help but wonder. The other scenario, and one he liked much better, was that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her and the drugs had just lowered her inhibitions enough to let her make her wants and needs known.

The doctor had warned Booth that it was highly likely that Brennan wouldn't remember the night's events after a significant amount of the drug had been ingested and Booth had been appalled. How could she not remember something so amazing? And if she didn't remember, how could he tell her without completely ruining their friendship and partnership? How could he tell her without looking like a complete creep who violated his best friend and partners trust and even her body when she was vulnerable and drugged? He was the one she trusted to always have her back no matter what. All the trust they had built over the years of their partnership would be destroyed with one act just because he couldn't control his freaking libido around her. She probably wouldn't want to be his partner anymore. Hell, she probably wouldn't ever want to see him again and he couldn't blame her. _What the hell was he going to do? _

Finding no answers from the ocean, he turned toward the bed where his beautiful partner lay sleeping, dressed in one of his t-shirts. He couldn't help the feeling of possessiveness that swept over him as he walked over and looked down into her sleeping face. Dammit, she belonged to him and she had for a long time. He just hadn't had the guts to admit it to himself much less her until she had pushed him, but would she remember how hard she had pushed him? Would she remember anything? Still not finding the answers he was seeking, he rubbed a hand tiredly over his face and decided that he would worry about it in the morning. He thought about sleeping on the couch. For about thirty seconds. But, he decided if this was the only night he got to spend with his partner like this then he was going to spend it with her in his arms. Slipping into bed, he scooted over and pulled her into his arms. He had to smile when even in her sleep; she wrapped herself around him, snuggling closer. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he had closed his eyes and was asleep minutes later.

Booth awoke at 9:00 with a soft, warm, squirming woman in his arms. Brennan had crawled on top of him and was kissing his neck and chest for all she was worth. Even though her eyes were closed and she appeared to still be sleeping her hands were all over him. He had thought he was having a very erotic dream until her hot, little hand intruded under the boxers he had put on for decency last night before crawling into bed with her but this was no dream. Silently asking God what he had ever done to deserve this, he removed her hand from his hard penis and gently slid her to lay beside him, hoping she would relax back into full sleep. No such luck. She grabbed his head with both hands and unerringly found his mouth with hers, giving him an open mouthed, tongue thrusting kiss that curled his toes and just about blew the top of his head off. Telling himself not to kiss her back was much easier said than done. But this encounter in no way resembled the one last night. Even though the doctor had assured him the drugs would have worn off by this time, she was obviously not aware of what she was doing and he would not take advantage of that.

Desperately, he broke the suction between their lips and tried to push her off of him before she turned him into a mindless pile of mush but she had become an octopus. As soon as he detached her busy little hands from one part of his body, they moved on to another even more inappropriate part. He was trying to be gentle with her but she was killing him and he had to get out of this bed. Now. In desperation, he rolled over until she was underneath him, thinking he could hold her still and slip out of bed. _Mistake,_ he realized as her arms locked around his neck and her legs locked around his waist, her hips bucking up against his prominent erection. He could unlock her arms or legs but not both and roll away before she could grab him again. Almost whimpering in desperation, he laid his forehead against hers. As much as he didn't want to explain to her waking up like this, he had to get away from her.

"Bones, please, stop it. Please," he said loudly. He got no response other than her avid mouth attaching itself to his neck. _Ok, then, he had to get himself out of this._ Unlocking his arms from around her neck, he quickly came to his knees, which they both liked as it pressed his hard on even more tightly against her hot, wet core. Quickly, he unlocked her legs from around his waist and shot out of the bed as if his life depended on it. Well, maybe not his life but he was sure his sanity had been in danger. Backing away from the bed as if it was going to explode if he was in the vicinity, he couldn't stop his eyes from wandering over her body. The t-shirt had ridden up to the bottom of her breasts, exposing her stomach and she had kicked the covers off exposing the strip of satin covering her mound and those mile long legs. Booth's gut clenched and his cock twitched as he fought the urge to climb back in that bed and let her have her way with him. It didn't help that she writhed around on the bed, her hands searching for him as she said his name in a breathy, needy voice. Shuddering, Booth left the room while he still could.

Making his way to the kitchen, Booth put on a pot of coffee, ignoring that his hand was shaking so badly, he spilled part of the water. What was he going to do? He had no idea until Brennan woke up and he could figure out what she remembered from the night before. Until then he had no idea how to handle the situation that had gotten completely out of control. It was ironic that he had come down here hoping for exactly what he had gotten but he couldn't really celebrate because of the circumstances. At the moment he loathed Newman and would gladly have put a bullet in his head. He knew that was a little extreme, but he would find a way to make the creep pay for messing this up for him. Grabbing his coffee, he walked over and watched the tide washing in, finding it soothing to see the never ending ebb and flow. Deciding it would be a good idea for him to be dressed when Brennan awoke, he headed for the shower, sending up a silent prayer that he could find a way to talk to his partner that didn't destroy everything they had built over the past five years. He couldn't lose her. He couldn't function without her in his life.

Two hours later, Brennan's eyes slitted open and she groaned loudly and grabbed her head as the sunlight spilling into the room seemed to erupt into a kaleidoscope of fractured colors. Quickly closing her eyes, she grasped her pounding head with both of her hands and buried her face in a pillow. What the hell had happened? Had she gotten drunk? She had never felt this bad even on the worst drunks she had pulled in college. Moaning, she pulled a pillow over her head and tried to find a position to stop the rhythmic pounding against her temples.

Hearing her moans from the other room, Booth quickly made her a cup of coffee just like she liked and headed in to see how she was feeling. Pretty crappy if how she was curled into a fetal position with a pillow over her head and moaning was any indication. Walking to the bed, he gently touched her shoulder.

"Bones, I have some coffee for you," he said softly. Brennan almost screamed. Booth soft words felt as if he were screaming at the top of his voice directly into her ear. It felt as if a cannon was going off in her head. "Hey," he said, trying to roll her onto her back, "are you ok?"

_Hell, no, she wasn't ok. She was dying._ Most likely from a brain aneurysm and she just wanted him to go away and let her die in peace. But this was her Booth and she knew, even through the excruciating pain and fog in her mind, that he would never do that so she did her best to give him a rundown on her current condition. "I'm dying," she moaned through the pillow.

Booth had to grin at that melodramatic statement coming from his oh so serious partner. Sitting down on the side of the bed, he touched her shoulder. "You're not dying, Bones." Brennan snorted at that one and then regretted it as her head pounded anew. She was getting just a little put out with her partner. She was the freaking scientist, she should know if she was dying or not. You would think he would be showing some sympathy here instead of the amusement she could detect in his voice. If she lived through this, she was certainly going to remember that he really wasn't very empathetic to her pain. "Does your head hurt?" Booth questioned.

_Well, give the man a gold star, he was a genius after all._ _Hell, yeah, her head hurt._ Your head usually did hurt when you were dying from a ruptured aneurysm and she would think the way she was grasping her head and moaning was also a good indication of the problem. Not bothering to answer what she considered a redundant question, she simply wished he would go away and let her die in peace.

"Bones, the doctor left some pills for you in case you had a headache this morning," Booth informed her, keeping his voice low and soothing. Brennan grabbed her head as if he was shouting at her.

Doctor? What doctor? When had she seen a doctor? The question didn't really seem important at the moment in the pain and fog of her mind. She did focus on the fact that there seemed to be pills available to help the headache and she was all for that. Reluctantly removing one hand from one of her ears and hoping Booth didn't speak while it was uncovered, she blindly reached her hand out for the pills. Booth didn't place the pills in her hand but tried to roll her over with a hand on her shoulder and she resisted with every ounce of strength she had.

"Come on, Bones. You have to turn over to take your medicine."

Brennan's hand instantly went back to her ear and she moaned in pain. "Booth, please stop shouting at me," she whimpered. Booth cringed at her words, he hated that he was causing her pain, but the doctor had warned him that she might have an awful headache when she woke up and he should medicate her as soon as possible. Booth felt like he was trying to medicate a recalcitrant three year old and thought back to how he had gotten Parker to take his medicine at that age.

"Ok, Baby, you just rest and I'll be right back," he whispered, his words barely audible. Brennan heard him but didn't bother to respond, having been pulled back into her world of pain. Booth was back within minutes. Sitting on the side of the bed, he scooted over until he was directly beside her head. "Bones," he whispered, "I need you to let me lift the pillow. Just keep your eyes closed, Baby, and open your mouth so I can give you your medicine." Brennan appreciated that he had lowered his voice. At this level it just made her head pound, but it didn't feel like it was going to explode. But she didn't much like his suggestion. She didn't want to move the pillow and resisted when Booth tried to lift it gripping the pillow like it was her lifeline. With a sigh, Booth lay down beside her and stroked her back until he felt her start to relax. "Come on, Baby," he urged huskily, "take your medicine and you'll feel better soon."

Brennan didn't really believe him. As far as she was aware, there was no magic pill to stop an aneurysm that had already ruptured, but this was Booth and he would never lie to her. On his next attempt, she allowed him to lift the pillow, keeping her eyes closed tight and opened her mouth. He placed two pills on her tongue and then she felt a straw being inserted into her mouth and took enough water to swallow the pills. Pulling the pillow back over her head tightly, she felt Booth start to move away from her and panicked. If she really was going to die, she wanted to do it with him by her side.

"Stay," she begged, grabbing his arm. Booth couldn't resist the plea. Kicking off his shoes and placing the water on the nightstand, he pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back soothingly. It took a little while for the meds to kick in, but soon she was relaxed against him in sleep and he pulled the pillow from her face and settled her more comfortably against him. She had asked him to stay and no way was he leaving her now. He could hold her in his arms like this forever.

A couple of hours later, Booth was woken from a light doze by a knock on the door of their cottage. Disentangling himself from his sleeping partner, he made his way to the door. Dr. Samuels stood on the other side and the look on the other man's face made Booth's gut sit up and take notice. Samuels had something big on his mind. Opening the door and allowing the doctor in, Booth motioned for him to take a seat but he seemed to be nervous and apparently preferred to pace. Seeing that the doctor wasn't going to start the conversation, Booth jumped right in.

"Do you have something for me on the drugs that were used on my partner?"

"Yes, Agent Booth. Unfortunately, I do." Well, that sounded ominous enough, thought Booth, waiting for the doctor to continue. "The drug that was used on your partner is a variation of the date rape drugs found on the street, but the comparison stops there. The components of the drug are too pure to be concocted on the street. This drug is made in a laboratory by a chemist. It is very powerful and very dangerous in the wrong hands." Samuels stopped his pacing and stood looking at Booth with his hands on his hips.

"How so?" asked Booth. He needed to know just how the drug had affected Brennan last night. Wondering if she had made love to him because she wanted to versus she was unable to control her reactions because of the drug was eating him up inside. Samuels sighed and rubbed a hand across his forehead and Booth noticed the man looked like he hadn't slept at all.

"The components that mimic GHB wear off fairly quickly, but there are a couple of drugs in the cocktail that I was unable to identify. Their chemical makeup most closely resembles a couple of chemicals that are thought to be strong aphrodisiacs. The real problem comes in with the last compound used in the cocktail. There is a very strong knock out drug that will put the victim out for about 15 hours. During those hours, they are completely at the mercy of whoever administered the drug. When they wake up, they rarely remember the encounter. All they know is they have been violated. Can you imagine what that does to a woman, knowing that some unknown person has done such personal things to their body without their consent?" Booth cringed at the doctor's words and the hope that he could make Brennan understand what had happened between them shriveled and died. _God, if she felt that way about their encounter, he would lose her forever_. But he still had to know if their encounter had been consensual. His conscience just couldn't let it go.

"Give me some kind of timeline on how the drug works," he requested. Samuels looked at him strangely but he complied with the request.

"These drugs work fast. In the first 15 to 30 minutes, you would start to see the effects with lowering of the inhibitions, then the aphrodisiacs kick in. The victim would probably become sexually aggressive." Booth felt his heart sink as Samuel's perfectly described Brennan's behavior last night. "There is, however, a flaw in this drug. The components used are quickly metabolized by the body and there is a period of probably 30 to 45 minutes when the victim is cognizant of what is going on before the knockout drug kicks in. Since this drug was made in a lab, I can only assume that it was done deliberately." Booth almost sagged in relief. So Brennan had known what she was doing. But would she remember it? Samuels had placed great emphasis on his last statement and Booth didn't know why then it hit him in the face.

"The bastard wants them to know what he's doing to them. He wants them to fight," Booth breathed in disgust. Samuels nodded his agreement.

"Agent Booth, in the last twelve months, I have had seven women who were attacked at this resort using this particular drug. Four of them were severely beaten and three of them were strangled to death." Booth was disgusted by what he was hearing, but the doctor wasn't finished. "The management of the hotel has done everything they could to keep it quiet and the law enforcement on this island is a joke. They do what they're paid to do. I looked you and Dr. Brennan up on the internet last night and you two seem to always get the people you go after. I assume you know who did this to your partner?" Booth nodded at the doctor when he paused. Yeah, he knew who the slimebag was. "I'm asking for your help, Agent Booth. This man needs to be stopped." Samuels gave Booth a level look and Booth knew he was serious that he would do whatever he was asked to do to stop this pervert. But it wasn't that easy.

"I agree that he needs to be stopped, Dr. Samuels. But I don't have any authority here." Booth explained patiently.

"Can't you contact your superiors and ask them to arrange something with the officials here?" Samuels was smart. Booth already had every intention of doing just that. There was no way he could ignore what was going on here.

"I can try," he nodded, "but I can't make any promises," he warned as the doctor almost sagged in relief that Booth was willing to help.

"That's all I can ask," Samuels assured him. "Now, how is Dr. Brennan this morning?" He immediately went into professional mode.

"She woke up with a hell of a headache and I gave her the pills you left for her. That was about two hours ago," he told the doctor, checking his watch. "She went back to sleep." Samuels nodded.

"She'll probably sleep for a couple more hours," he told Booth. Taking a bottle of pills out of his case, he handed them to Booth. "The headache may persist, so you can give her two of these every four hours. They're not quite as strong as the ones I left last night, so they probably won't knock her out but they should take care of the headache. I can examine her if you like but I really think the best thing is to just let her sleep it off." Booth actually concurred. He didn't think it was a good idea to disturb his partner right now.

"Will she remember anything about last night," Samuels caught the pleading note in Booth's voice and had to wonder exactly what had happened last night but it was really none of his business.

"I don't know," he wished he had better news for the man but he had to be honest. "The women I treated didn't remember at first, but they did start to recall what happened in that window I told you about before the knockout drug kicked in. Unfortunately, they couldn't remember in enough detail to identify who did this to them. So, I just don't know what your friend will remember." Seeing the look on Booth's face, Samuels knew this wasn't what he wanted to hear, but he wouldn't lie to the man even though he desperately needed his help to stop the son of a bitch who was raping and killing women with impunity on his territory. He had done what he had come here to do and he had several patients that were expecting him this morning. Holding out his hand to Booth, he gave the FBI agent a firm handshake. "I will be waiting to hear from you, Agent Booth," he reminded Booth. Booth nodded and Samuels left.

Booth walked over to the sofa and sat down, dropping his head in his hands. God_, he was so confused. He had no idea what he was going to do about his Bones when she woke up. He guessed it depended on what she remembered. But he couldn't do anything about that right now._ He would just have to wait until she woke up and face the music. But he could at least try to do something about the pervert running loose at this resort. He had a damn good idea who had raped and murdered those women the doctor had told him about and nobody got away with that on his watch. Picking up his phone, he dialed Cullen determined to find some way to bring the bastard to justice.


	14. Chapter 14

**Happy New Years to all. I wish you each and every one a healthy, happy, prosperous year to come. T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth sat in the sitting room of the beachside cottage more than a little disturbed over his discussion with Cullen. Before Booth could tell fill him in on the dead women, Cullen had started ranting about how someone had tried to bribe him to recall Booth to Washington immediately. That certainly gave Booth pause. It had to be Newman and he was trying to make sure Brennan was here with no one to protect her. Like that was going to happen.

If the bribe had been offered to someone not quite as honest as Cullen and Booth had been recalled, no way would he have left without Brennan. It took some time for Booth to calm Cullen down but he became very interested when Booth told him it had to be Newman who had offered the bribe and went on to tell him about Brennan being drugged at dinner last night and what the doctor had told him about the rapes and murders where the same drug had been used. Cullen got very, very quiet and Booth just waited.

"I want you to nail that son of a bitch to the wall," Cullen told Booth forcefully. Before Booth could object that he didn't have any authority here, Cullen interrupted. "I'll take care of things with the local authorities," he assured Booth and Booth had no doubt he would. Cullen was amazing sometimes. "I'll call you back and let you know who your local contact is."

"Yes, Sir."

"And, Booth, I'm counting on you to keep Dr. Brennan safe. Do not let her out of your sight for one second." Cullen held back his laughter at the order. He had no doubt Booth would obey. Hell, his agent barely took his eyes off Dr. Brennan when they were in DC and a murdering psycho wasn't fixated on her. They would, no doubt, be Siamese twins for the week in Bali.

"Sir, I can assure you that nothing will happen to Bones while I'm around." Cullen hung up laughing. Looking at his phone, Booth had to wonder if his superior might be developing a drinking problem. He was awfully cheery about the current situation. Before Booth could ponder it further, a knock sounded at the door.

The helpful Dr. Samuels had arranged for a messenger service to pick up the vial of blood he had left with Booth last night and send it to the Jeffersonian. Samuel's was eager for the assistance of such a renowned institution as the Jeffersonian and anyone who might be able to assist with putting away the rapist/murderer who was running rampant on the island. Just as he was closing the door behind the messenger, he heard sounds from the bedroom, alerting him that Brennan was stirring. Leaning his forehead against the door, he sent up a quick prayer for God to guide him in the right direction and give him the words to make Brennan understand last night without thinking he was a pervert who took advantage of her. He so did not want to go into that bedroom and face her, but Seeley Booth wasn't one to run from facing what might have been the biggest mistake of his life. With a deep sigh, he pushed away from the door and headed toward the bedroom.

Entering the bedroom and walking toward the bed, Booth couldn't help but smile. Brennan had her eyes closed and was stretching with feline grace. Walking over to the bed, Booth sat down. This position put him closer to her than he had intended, but he didn't get up, he just waited for her to open her eyes and look at him.

Brennan came to slowly. She felt wonderfully relaxed. Although she had a slight headache, otherwise she felt great. She was a little mentally foggy but she assumed that was from the headache and it would clear up soon. Stretching lazily, she finally opened her eyes to find herself looking directly into warm, chocolate brown orbs as Booth looked down at her.

"Good morning," he offered with a soft smile, leaning in closer and keeping his voice very low to avoid causing her pain in case her head still hurt. He reached out a hand and tenderly brushed an auburn curl from her face.

"Good morning," she purred, a sultry smile spreading across her face. Before Booth could guess her intent, she grabbed a handful of his t-shirt and jerked him down, wrapping her arms around his neck and finding his mouth to kiss him senseless. No matter how many times he told himself to get out of there right now, he couldn't resist sliding his tongue against hers and swallowing her moans. Several minutes later, he found the will to untangle their tongues and remove her arms from around his neck. Her eyes fluttered open, dark with passion and she looked at him in confusion as if she couldn't figure out why he had stopped her, then a look of absolute horror crossed her face. She scrambled up until her back was pressed to the headboard, drawing the comforter up to her chin. For several long, silent seconds they simply stared at each other.

"Oh, God, Booth, I have no idea why I did that. I'm so sorry." The horror on her face was reflected in her voice and Booth let go of the hope that she had remembered everything and wanted to take up where they left off.

"Hey, Bones, it's ok," he soothed, not attempting to touch her. As skittish as she was right now, he knew that was a bad idea. "Let's just consider it practice," he said with a charm smile and she looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Practice for what?" she asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed.

"Well, Bones, we're pretending to be a couple here and if we were a real couple I would definitely kiss you in public. How long are we going to be able to fool that creep Newman if you stiffen up and look like it's the first time I've ever kissed you like that?" She got that cute little furrow between her brows that indicated she was thinking hard. After several seconds, she nodded.

"That is very logical, Booth. Are you saying that we need to practice being intimate with each other so we can deceive the desired individuals in a public setting?" Booth really wished she hadn't phrased it quite like that. He was instantly ready to get very intimate with her. "That's up to you, Bones. But we need to talk about something first."

Brennan could see from his eyes and face that it was something very serious that he wanted to discuss. _Had she done something wrong?_ Reaching up to run a hand through her hair, she felt a pull on the inner aspect of her elbow and looked to see a bandaid. _What was that doing on there?_ She had no recollection of putting it there. Ripping it off with a little hiss of pain, she saw what appeared to be a venipuncture site. _What the hell?_ Looking at Booth for some answers, she saw this was part of what he wanted to talk to her about. Well, she wanted answers and she wanted them now. "Booth, what's going on?" Brennan forced the words past the lump in her throat. For some reason that she couldn't explain, she was terrified of having this talk with the man in front of her. Booth looked at her as if debating then shook his head.

"Why don't you get dressed then we'll talk?" Even if it made him a pervert, he was getting very turned on seeing her all warm and sleep tousled and still in bed. Searching his eyes, she finally nodded and he stood up to leave the room.

"Thank you for not getting mad when I kissed you, Booth. You're a good friend," he heard her whisper softly behind him. The words stopped him in his tracks but he couldn't turn to face her. _God, she was killing him here._ He felt lower than one of Hodgins' slimy, squirming specimens. Here she was thanking him for being such a good friend and he had to tell her that he had violated every iota of trust that she had placed in him over the years of their partnership. She probably would never speak to him again. Unable to speak around the knot of disgust aimed at himself in his throat, he nodded and continued out of the room.

Brennan buried her face in her hands as Booth left the room. _What the hell had just happened? What could she possibly have been thinking to grab Booth, her partner, and kiss him like that?_ She had no idea. She only knew that when her eyes fluttered open and met his something primal inside her had screamed MINE and drawing him down for that kiss had been as natural as breathing. God, she was so relieved that he had taken it in stride. He could have made a serious stink about her inappropriate behavior and embarrassed her even further, but, then again, that was her Booth, always looking out for her.

Fighting down her embarrassment over her actions, Brennan slowly climbed out of bed and stretched sinuously. Her body felt rested and ready to go but her mind felt…odd, was the best description she could come up with. It wasn't really foggy, she just felt as if something was nagging on the edge of her consciousness that she couldn't quite grasp and her gut told her it was important. She would never admit to Booth that she believed in following her gut and only did it with things that affected her personally and had found, to her surprise, it rarely let her down.

Gathering her clothing for the day, she headed toward the bathroom, her brow furrowed in concentration, trying to will whatever it was forward into her conscience mind. Studying herself closely in the bathroom mirror, she noted, for the first time that she was attired in one of Booth's t-shirts. Not that she minded. It was, after all, much less revealing than anything Angela had packed as nightwear. She just didn't remember putting it on and that was a little worrisome.

In fact, she was having difficulty recalling much of anything about last night. The last really clear recollection she had was meeting the Vaughns and Rydells. Both couples had been pleasant enough and had tried their best to put Brennan and Booth at ease. Not so with Newman. He had truly creeped Brennan out to the point that she wanted to just scream at him to stop looking at her. Her anger with the man was further fueled by the fact that he kept asking her to dance. She had refused repeatedly which meant she couldn't dance with Booth either and that really pissed her off.

Mrs. Vaughn had suggested one of the house drinks that Brennan had found delicious. She remembered getting a little more flirtatious with Booth but blamed it on the alcohol and trying to show that creepy Newman that she wasn't available and to back off. She even remembered the second drink being served, but after that not so much. _Man, they must really use the strong stuff here_, she thought, _she'd never in her life had two drinks affect her like that. _Trying to force the memories to come didn't seem to be working for her so after several minutes, during which she brushed her teeth and plucked her eyebrows, she gave up, deciding to let her mind wander and maybe whatever it was that her gut was telling her was so important would come out of the shadows into the light of day.

Booth paced the sitting area restlessly, his hands deep in the pockets of his shorts. He had no idea what he was going to do. When Brennan had grabbed him and kissed him so possessively, he had thought his heart was going to explode with happiness, but her horrified reaction to what she had done told him she either didn't remember their mind blowing encounter last night or she hadn't found it quite as mind blowing as he had and wasn't interested in pursuing a relationship further. In his current state of mind, Booth wasn't sure which was worse. _Oh, who was he kidding?_ He would be absolutely devastated if Brennan had been so disappointed in their encounter that she didn't want to get more intimate with him. Maybe it was just his own ego talking but he chose to believe that she didn't remember.

_Dammit, what was he going to do?_ He had to tell her. Keeping quiet really wasn't an option. And, God, did he dread it. Every time he thought about telling her what they had done last night, Dr. Samuels' words echoed in his ears and he cringed. He couldn't bear the thought of his partner feeling violated like that and, most especially, by him, the one person she trusted implicitly. _What would that do to her?_ Yes, he was worried about their partnership and friendship surviving his inability to control his lust around his gorgeous partner, but he was more worried about her. She did not trust easily. It had taken him five long years to earn her trust and respect. _When she found out he had violated that, would she shut herself off from the world again and erect walls that no one could climb or penetrate_?

_Would she again become the Dr. Temperence Brennan he had first met?_ Appearing to be cold and unfeeling but really just too afraid of getting hurt to let anyone get too close. _Would she die of loneliness before she let anyone else in?_ Yes, he fully believed she would and it would be his fault. Well, he was going to face the music, he refused to lie to her, but he also refused to let her kick him out of her life. He was just as stubborn and tenacious as she was and he wasn't going anywhere. He would do whatever she asked as atonement but her not being in his life was unacceptable. He wouldn't really have a life without her in it, only an existence.

He figured she would try to kick him out of this cottage as soon as their discussion was finished and he didn't blame her at all, but he had been ordered to stay on the island and work the case and he had no intention of leaving her unprotected and vulnerable for even a second. Newman had managed to slip something into her drink when they were in a crowded restaurant with several dinner companions. Brennan being alone in this cottage even for one night would give the pervert more than ample opportunity to get to her. It was obvious that Newman had paid someone else to slip his partner the drugged drink. Booth was thinking the bartender or the waiter and had every intention of talking to both as soon as he got the go ahead from Cullen. But, the point was that Newman had the money to command cooperation from almost anyone at this resort. He had apparently chosen it as his own personal hunting grounds and it was up to Booth and his Bones to stop the creep. They were the best team around and they would get their man. Booth just prayed that while they were doing that, he figured out a way to keep his partner.

Brennan rubbed her temples in a circular motion. The slight headache she had experienced when she had first woken up was turning into a continuous throb and she knew she needed to take something for it now before it made her sick to her stomach and one of the few days she and Booth had to spend alone together was ruined. Pulling one of the plush robes provided for the guests around her, she wandered back into the bedroom. She already knew she didn't have anything in her purse. She rarely felt unwell and had never found that a necessity. She did, however, always pack an extensive first aid kit whenever leaving the country but that was out since Angela had gutted her suitcase.

"Booth, I have a headache. Do you have anything for it?" Booth had to smile at the plaintive note in her voice. His head turned toward the bedroom but he otherwise held his position in front of the sliding glass doors leading onto the patio.

"Yeah, Bones, there's a bottle of pills on the nightstand on my side of the bed. Take two of those." Both of them shivered a little at the intimacy of him identifying one side of the bed as his. Being in separate rooms they, of course, were unaware of this. Turning his eyes back to the ebb and flow of the tide, Booth was immediately lost in thought.

"Booth, this medication is in what appears to be an unlabeled prescription bottle. Is this your medication? Why would you tear the labels off? That's illegal you know," she lectured and he didn't know whether to laugh or just tell her to take the damn medication so they could hurry up and have their talk. Not that he was anxious to see her look at him as he was afraid she would but this not knowing was driving him insane.

"It's not my medication, Bones. It's for you. Remember I told you that the doctor saw you last night?" Brennan's brow furrowed and she did have a dim recollection of her head feeling as if it was going to explode and Booth giving her some medication he said the doctor had left in case of a headache. Without waiting for her to answer, Booth continued, "He said if you still had a headache to take two of those and it would keep it from getting bad again." Being all for that, Brennan grabbed the bottle, popped off the lid and shook two pills out into the palm of her hand. She wanted to march into the other room and demand Booth tell her why she had seen a doctor and, more importantly, why she couldn't remember it, but, considering her earlier behavior, she felt it was probably prudent to be dressed when she did that. So she might as well go ahead and take a shower as well. Heading back into the bathroom, she swallowed them with a glass of water and hoped they took effect quickly. The pounding was getting worse.

Brennan turned on the water in the shower to allow it to heat before getting in. When billows of steam began to issue from the stall, she stepped into pure decadence. The stall itself was large enough to easily hold six adults and there were a multitude of showerheads situated along all three walls so that the water hit every part of your body at once instead of starting at your head and working its way down. It was a little startling at first but Brennan soon found herself enjoying it. It was almost like getting an all over massage by barely there hands. She knew she could adjust the pressure if she wanted a deeper massage but this felt wonderful this morning, gently washing away her troubles and seeming to be starting to ease the headache. Closing her eyes, she gave herself over to the soothing pounding of the water.

Massaging the mango scented shampoo into her hair, her fingers encountered a hard object. Pulling it from her hair, she held it in front of her face and squinted one eye open, not taking any chances on shampoo getting into her eyes. Frowning, she saw that it was one of the combs that Angela had matched with the outfit she had worn last night. _Now, how in the world had she missed removing something that noticeable from her hair before bed?_ Telling herself she needed to be more careful as she had no idea of the value of the accessories Angela had provided, she placed the comb in one of the recesses built into the shower wall. Closing her eyes, she firmly massaged her scalp with her fingertips hoping to get rid of the nagging headache and, along with the pills, it seemed to be helping. Until she stepped back under the water flow and ran her fingers through her hair from root to tip to rinse thoroughly.

The instant she did that an image assaulted her so strongly that she felt like it was happening right then. Booth's hand was tunneling through her hair and he sure as hell wasn't helping her wash out the shampoo. His big, rough hand cupped the back of her head as he pulled her closer and he kissed her. _Wait, maybe she was kissing him? Oh, who the hell cared who was kissing who? They were kissing and it sure couldn't be classified as a kiss between partners unless the FBI handbook contained rules that she was unacquainted with._ As his other hand smoothed down her back and started to move around to her side, it felt so real that Brennan's eyes jerked open instinctively to make sure she was still alone in the shower.

_Mistake,_ she realized instantly as shampoo flooded her eyes. Knowing what to do and making herself do it were two different things she discovered as she lifted her face toward the shower head, washing away the remaining shampoo from her face, but unable to make herself open her eyes and let the water do its job. Her eyes had always been super sensitive and it usually took multiple tries for her to tolerate the tonometry test for glaucoma at the ophthalmologist's office. She couldn't even put in her own eye drops.

Dancing around at the stinging agony in her eyes and muttering a litany of _Shit, Shit, Shit_, she blindly felt with her outstretched hands until she located a washcloth and wet it. Bringing it to her watering, stinging eyes, she began the long, laborious process of decontaminating her abused eyes, frantically hoping that the shampoo hadn't done enough damage to leave her permanently blinded. Her _Shit, Shit, Shit's_ were getting louder and louder until she realized they were echoing around the room and clamped a hand over her mouth. She found she couldn't stop the verbalizations but she tried to keep her voice low enough that Booth didn't come rushing in to save her. Now wouldn't that just be a kick in the ass for him to come in and find her naked in the shower, her eyesight, sadly, lost forever. _What the hell would she say to him_? Oh, yeah, she had one. _Hey, Booth, I'm a little foggy on last night. So, just to be accurate, did you stick your tongue down my throat first or was it vice versa_? Oh, yeah, that would be the perfect way to start the day.

Suddenly becoming aware of the vernacular that was running through her head and instinctively knowing she had used it correctly, she groaned. _Oh, God, she really was turning into Angela. This was so not good._ Ignoring Angela's delighted laughter and her advice of "_Come on, Bren, just go with it. You know you want to,_" Brennan ran a hand through her wet hair and began to pace within the confines of the shower. _What the hell was going on?_ This thought was soon replaced by _wonder how big this sucker is to allow for such even placement of that many steps? _as she continued to pace the shower. Brennan looked around at the shower consideringly. _STOP IT AND FOCUS!_ Her inner Temperence yelled so loudly she actually jumped. Fine, she snapped back, she could always measure the shower later. Focus, yes, she just needed to focus and remember what had happened last night. Leaning her forehead against the imported, Italian tiles of the wall, Brennan closed her eyes and attempted to focus.

She saw herself and Booth seated at the table with their five hosts. For the first few minutes, things had been a little stilted but she had actually liked everyone present except Newman so she had avoided even looking at him if she could help it. She had concentrated on the other two couples and Booth. _Oh, yeah, Sweetie, you concentrated on Booth. My little girl's all grown up now and I'm so proud_. Angela'ssqueal of delight may have been imaginary but Brennan still winced_._ Shut up, Angela, Brennan snapped, ignoring the words. It was a little harder to ignore the same sultry laughter echoing in her head as she heard it slip out of her mouth as she rubbed a hand up and down Booth's thigh, venturing into territory that was definitely not polite at the dinner table. She saw herself leaning over and nipping at his earlobe, swirling her tongue inside his ear and felt herself getting aroused at just the memory_. Way to go, Sweetie. I knew you had it in you, _Angela cheered.

_Wait!_ demanded Temperence sharply, _we are able to control our biological urges better than this. And we would never approach our partner like this, not after the last time. Remember our promise? We WOULD NOT DO THIS! This was obviously a dream or a fantasy. _ Brennan sagged against the wall in relief. Not at the thought of why such a promise had been necessary. That stung like the dickens, but she was very, very glad to see that her logical, rational self was present and accounted for. Now she could figure this out.

Rubbing her temples furiously, she continued pacing. Yes, that had to be it. It had only been a dream. _God knew, she'd had enough fantasies about her partner over the last five years to keep several x rated production companies rolling indefinitely._ She must have just enhanced whatever had happened at dinner in her dreams and come up with this. Before she could even pat herself on the back for coming up with a logical, reasonable answer, Angela broke in, laughing gleefully. _Oh, please, Bren, you so felt Booth up at dinner last night_. Brennan didn't even bother to chastise her inner Angela as she had the sneaking suspicion that she was absolutely right. _What the hell had come over her? How was she going to explain being all handsy to her oh, so uncomfortable with sex talk partner? _She had no idea but right now, she needed to finish her shower before the seemingly endless supply of hot water ran out.

Twenty minutes later, Brennan had dressed in the most conservative set of clothes that Angela had packed; shorts that her butt didn't hang out of and a slim fitting tank top that drew attention to her obvious assets but it at least covered her abdomen. She had dried her hair and had finally stalled as long as possible in the bathroom. _God, look at her, hiding out in the bathroom. Where had her ability to face anything that life threw at her face on and keep moving gone? _ She knew where. Nothing that life had ever thrown at her had been as potentially devastating as loosing Booth. She could not survive without him in her life. Oh, she wouldn't crawl off in a hole somewhere and die but she wouldn't live either, she would simply exist. Deciding she needed to be a grown up about this and just get it over with, she marched militantly out of the bathroom, through the bedroom and into the sitting room.

Booth heard her coming and turned with a grin. He knew that step. It said she was going to do something she didn't want to do but was determined to get it over with. His smile faded as he wondered just what that something was. His heart dropped to his feet as she came into the room and wouldn't even look at him. Taking the chair furtherest from his standing position, she seated herself, crossing her arms and legs and continued to avoid his eyes. _Well, that told him things probably weren't going to go well._

"Bones, I…," he broke off when she held up an imperious hand for silence.

"Booth, please," she almost whispered, "I have to say something and I need to get it out while I can." He waited for what seemed to be an eternity but she didn't say anything else. As soon as he opened his mouth to prompt her, she rushed into speech. "I'." She buried her flaming face in her hands and hoped the floor would open up and swallow her.

Booth almost laughed until he realized that dinner was apparently all she remembered and it did not bode well for what else he had to tell her if _little miss I'm going to mention sex as often as possible and enjoy watching Booth squirm and blush _was this embarrassed and flustered by getting a little touchy feely. Damn, he so didn't want to tell her the rest. He would but first he needed to calm her down and reassure her that it hadn't been her fault. He had a strong suspicion that was causing most of her fluster and embarrassment, not knowing why she had done what she could clearly remember doing would be devastating for someone to whom control was so important. Walking over, he sat down on the edge of the teak coffee table placing himself directly in front of her seat.

"Bones," he said softly, not touching her but she refused to look at him and didn't answer so he reached out and laid a hand on her thigh. Startled, huge blue eyes filled with confusion and a hint of shame flew to his hand and then to his face. It broke his heart that she would ever feel shame over anything that happened between them. "Hey, it's ok," he soothed.

"No, Booth, it's definitely not ok. I practically assaulted you last night at dinner and I have no idea why, so it's not ok," she sat forward, leaning toward him and running her hand through her hair. Neither of them thought to remove his hand from her thigh.

"You didn't assault me, so don't worry about it," he could see from her face that she was very worried about it but he could clear that up for her. Regretfully removing his hand from her thigh, he took both of her hands in his and looked directly into her eyes. "The reason you acted like that is that you were drugged at dinner last night, Bones." He watched the expressions chase across her face: shock, disbelief, analyzing the evidence, acceptance then anger. Nodding, he continued, "I don't know for sure but I'm guessing it was in your drink."

"Booth, are you sure?" she could clearly see that he was but she still had to ask. He nodded. "But who…," her voice trailed off and her eyes met those of her partner and they both uttered one word simultaneously, Newman. Brennan pulled one hand free from Booth's and ran a hand through her hair. She was having a little bit of a hard time accepting this. She didn't doubt that Booth was telling her the truth, especially since his words were backed up by the behavior she recalled but couldn't explain. She just had one question. Why? Or she thought she just had one question, but her mind was suddenly flooded with a multitude of them.

"Booth," she said urgently, "we need to get some blood drawn to see what kind of drug was used." She started to rise from her chair intent on finding a lab when Booth gently pushed her back down.

"Already done," he told her with no small degree of satisfaction echoing in his voice, his thumb unconsciously stroking over the small hole left from the venipuncture. Brennan felt like slapping her forehead with an open palm, she wasn't quite sure where the gesture had originated but was aware of its meaning.

"I still need to get some blood to send back to the Jeffersonian," she insisted, trying to rise again only to be pushed back into her chair and this time, Booth scooted closer, opening his thighs and caging hers in between to keep her from popping up like a jack in the box.

"I sent it off to Cam almost an hour ago," he reassured her and she was impressed. She had learned a lot from Booth over the years and she was now seeing that he had also been learning from her, a true symbiotic relationship.

"What kind of drug was I given?" Brennan demanded, feeling her ire beginning to rise at the thought of someone drugging her against her will.

"The doctor said it was a derivative similar to GHB with a healthy dose of an aphrodisiac and a knock out drug mixed in," after what he and this woman had done to each other's bodies last night, Booth couldn't believe he blushed when he said the word aphrodisiac, but was ok with it since it put a big grin on Brennan's face.

"I understand why he would use the drug in the first place, Booth." She shuddered in revulsion at the thought of what people who used that drug on unsuspecting women were up to. Rape. It was an awful word and she didn't even want to think of the images it conjured up, it was a woman's worst nightmare. "But why would he drug me last night? It doesn't make any sense. We had made it clear to him that we were a couple and he had to know I wouldn't be going anywhere quiet with him." Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"He tried to have me recalled to Washington yesterday, Bones. Had someone discreetly offer Cullen a bribe to do it." Brennan looked at Booth incredulously. This Newman was suddenly starting to scare her as well as seriously creep her out. "I don't know for sure but I'm guessing that he was confident I would be out of the picture and you would be at his mercy so he concocted the plan to spike your drink. Maybe it was too late to call it off when he found out I wasn't going anywhere but for whatever reason he went ahead with it. Bones, you weren't responsible for your actions so don't worry about it." Booth saw the relief in her eyes as she processed his words and felt like the lowest form of life ever to exist as he heard his own words. She _hadn't_ been responsible for her actions and he had taken advantage of that. _Did that put him in the same category as Newman? God, he hoped not but right now, he just wasn't sure. _

"There's more, isn't there, Booth?" Booth almost smiled at the way she could read him.

"Yeah, there's more." Booth knew he should tell her the worst of it right now and just get it over with but he justified to himself that she needed to hear about the case while she was still speaking to him. So, he told her about meeting Dr. Samuels and how the man had asked for their help after discovering the same compound that had been used on her had been used in the commission of four rapes and three murders at this particular resort in the last twelve months. He told her of the authorities disinterest in pursuing investigations into the attacks and that Cullen was so angry someone had tried to bribe him that he had arranged things with the local authorities so that he and Brennan were authorized to investigate all the cases. Cullen had informed him during a call just before Brennan had made her appearance that he and Brennan had been given carte blanche. They would be given access to anything they asked for and whatever assistance they required would be at their disposal. Booth didn't ask how Cullen had accomplished that. He didn't really care as long as it gave them the go ahead to find the evidence to put a sick pervert behind bars.

Brennan was appalled and enraged that a sexual predator was being allowed to roam freely, to rape and kill at will. She might be naïve but she had done enough foreign travel to know that in many countries the authorities weren't quite the upholders of truth and justice that most were in the US. Money changing hands made a lot of them look the other way in many countries. But for something like this? How could anyone justify that to themselves, no matter the amount of money being thrown their way?

"It's Newman, isn't it, Booth?" she demanded, her voice shaking with fury. He nodded.

"I think so, Bones. Now, we just have to prove it." Brennan nodded resolutely. They were the best crime solving team in the world, in her opinion. She didn't doubt for a second that they would find something to put the son of a bitch away. Booth grinned at the grim determination on her face then his face took on a look of such seriousness that Brennan felt a shiver of fear and foreboding that this conversation would negatively impact the rest of her life run down her spine. "I need to talk to you about something else, Brennan."

Brennan wanted to cover her ears, to get up and run. Booth never called her by anything other than Bones unless it was super serious and she could tell just by looking at him that the subject matter he was about to bring up was painful and distasteful to him. Suddenly, she was certain that she did not want to have this conversation under any circumstances. But she was trapped. She would have to shove him over to get up and felt that was a bit extreme. So, she turned her eyes on him. Huge blue eyes that begged him to not speak. As much as he would like to avoid the conversation himself, it was time and his face told her he wasn't going to put this off.

"About last night," he dropped his head and she braced herself to hear about something else that she had done that was too awful for him to forgive and forget. Just as Booth was about to continue, and urgent pounding set up on the cottage door. Brennan tried to get up to go to the door, beyond relieved at the interruption but Booth held her in place. "Whoever that is can wait, Bones. This is important." Brennan sagged back in her chair, knowing there was no escaping now. She was wrong.

"Please open the door, Agent Booth," yelled a clearly agitated voice, "there was another attack last night."


	15. Chapter 15

**Happy New Year to all. Just so you know, Musie is just a tad angsty today so point any sharp objects in her direction and not mine and if I get reviews I'm already having a great year, so push that button. Please?**

**Disclaimer: They're not mine. Bummer.**

Booth and Brennan followed an agitated Dr. Samuels down a hallway on the 14th floor of the main resort hotel at a clip. The only real information they had been able to extract from him at the cottage was that there had been another attack and that they needed to come with him quickly. When they tried to question him, he would only say they would see when they got there. Caught up in his urgency, they had complied and reached their destination within minutes.

Booth and Brennan looked at each other curiously when Dr. Samuels stopped in front of room 1408. The door was closed and, from the outside, the room looked the same as any of the others up and down the long corridor. Not bothering to knock, Dr. Samuels opened the door and strode inside. There the similarity with the other rooms ended. Or at least Booth hoped to God it did.

There were six people in the room. One was dressed in the uniform of the hotel's security personnel and he appeared to be wandering around the room aimlessly, touching whatever took his fancy and contaminating the crime scene before them beyond belief. Two men in suits stood near the doorway to the bathroom arguing not so quietly, but they were speaking in the island's native language of Balinese so Booth and Brennan didn't understand them but Dr. Samuels apparently did. He gave a snort of absolute disgust at whatever the older man in the more expensive suit had just said and both men turned their attention to the newcomers.

The older man stalked toward them, seemingly incensed that had dared to enter the room, glaring at Dr. Samuels as if he were the devil himself. The younger man looked at them curiously but cautiously. As the older man neared, Booth met and held his eyes levelly, letting the angry man know that he wouldn't be intimidated by him or anyone else. Brennan paid the guy no attention whatsoever. Catching sight of the final three occupants of the room had apparently snapped her out of the state of shock she had been thrown into upon seeing a crime scene treated thusly.

"_Stop_!!" she bellowed at the two maids who were scurrying about cleaning the room. Everyone in the room froze in their tracks, even the man who seemed to be in charge. Booth would be willing to bet there were people standing still at least three floors above and below their position because he was certain her voice had carried that far, at least. _Man, he hadn't heard her yell like that in years, not since she first began going out into the field and he realized he kind of missed it. _ The FBI techs feared her wrath so much that they had quickly learned to do things her way and rarely pissed her off anymore.

Brennan wasn't pissed off, she wasn't incensed, she wasn't enraged. She didn't think there was a word for what she was as she looked around the room and saw evidence being compromised left and right. Yeah, that pissed her off, but what pushed her to a level of anger she had never experienced before was the fact that these people were obviously trying to cover up a crime when the victim still lay, cold and lifeless, in the bed. _What the hell was wrong with them? Where was there compassion? Their respect?_

Yes, Brennan knew what was lying on that bed was just a lifeless lump of bone and tissue and that the spirit had already departed. Not that she believed in that last part but still, she worked with the dead every day and she always did it with the utmost respect, believing that they deserved it more than a lot of the living individuals she had met in her lifetime. And nothing riled her more than people around her not showing them the same respect she did. Evidence being knowingly compromised was bad enough, but this, this was atrocious, obscene, almost incomprehensible and she _would not_ allow it to continue.

"Out!! Now!!" Using the same bellow and an extended arm with a finger pointing toward the door got her point across whether they spoke English or not. They hustled out of the room despite the protests of the well dressed older man, not even giving him a passing glance. Booth got the impression they hadn't wanted to be there in the first place and were glad of the excuse to escape. Brennan didn't even have to speak to the guard. She simply looked at him and raised an eyebrow and he left the room at a near run. _Damn, she was good,_ Booth thought, his chest puffing out with pride at his partner's ability to intimidate people. Then she turned her wrath on the man in the suite. Booth crossed his arms over his chest and settled in for the show. He would have his turn with the guy later but he wasn't about to miss Brennan dressing the guy down. This should be good.

"Are you responsible for this… this… atrocity?" she yelled, stalking toward him as he matched each of her forward steps with one backward. Her voice indicated there would be dire consequences if he answered in the affirmative. The man's backward movement was halted suddenly by the wall and he swallowed hard as the incensed anthropologist continued forward until they were standing toe to toe. Since they were approximately the same height, they were also eye to eye.

"Are. You. Responsible. For. This? she gritted out between clenched teeth. Her soft, deadly voice and the look in her eyes sent a shiver of alarm down the man's spine and Booth went on alert.

_Uh, oh, fun time over_. Booth knew from that voice that she wanted to beat the crap out of someone and she had sighted a prospective target. He also knew she was very, very close to losing her cool and would throw a punch at the slightest provocation and as much as he thought whoever the dipwad who was obviously trying to eradicate all evidence of murder deserved it, he couldn't allow that to happen. Walking over, he placed both of his hands on her shoulders. "Bones," he said softly, trying to turn her to face him but she resisted, still eyeing the unfortunate man pinned against the wall like a lioness eyeing its prey. "Bones," Booth repeated, his voice more forceful and with one final glare at the man, she allowed Booth to turn her.

"He deserves it, Booth," she defended her almost actions. "Just look at this. This crime scene is so compromised that we can't be sure of anything even if the techs they send out to properly process it actually know what they're doing," she ranted, pacing in front of him. Catching her forearm firmly on the next round, Booth pulled her to a stop and waited for her to meet his eyes.

"Hey, we'll find something to help us stop this guy. You and me, we're the best there is. Right?" She nodded. "And we're going to make it our mission in life to put this guy away so that this never happens again so I need you to calm down right now and tell me what to do so that we can salvage this mess."

Brennan was appalled at her loss of control. Nodding, she stepped back, instantly becoming Dr. Temperence Brennan, world renowned forensic anthropologist and FBI consultant. Taking a slow 360 degree survey of the scene, she turned to Dr. Samuels. Her first impression of him had been positive and she didn't trust herself to speak to the other man again right now. She was sure he wouldn't help her preserve the scene so they could salvage evidence plus she wasn't completely certain she wouldn't still punch him.

"I need the best evidence collection team you have. And where the hell is the medical examiner?" Dr. Samuels eyed Dr. Brennan with a great deal of respect. His first impression of her had been positive. He had been further impressed when she stopped the hotel manager from handling this murder in what Dr. Samuels considered a revolting and immoral manner, just as he had done with the three other murders and the four terrible attacks that had taken place at this resort. But as much as he wanted to help her, he just didn't have the authority to get any of those things done but he knew who did.

"Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth, I'd like you to meet Detective Komang." Dr. Samuels indicated the other man who had been in the room when they arrived and the man stepped forward. "He'll be able to help you with whatever you need, Dr. Brennan."

"Please call me Derek," Komang shook Booth's hand and turned to Brennan. "Dr. Brennan, it is a real pleasure to meet you. I have read all of your books and I'm a big fan," he told her in perfect, unaccented English and smiled slightly as the woman who had just been a lioness at the sight of a body being disrespected blushed at the words of praise. Shaking Brennan's hand, he turned an irritated gaze on the older man who was apparently responsible for this mess. "As I was trying to tell Mr. Smith when you arrived, I have been ordered by my superiors to immediately notify you and follow your lead on any assaults or murders that fit a specific pattern. Unfortunately, Mr. Smith was informed of the crime scene before Dr. Samuels found out about it and notified me. I arrived only minutes before you and was trying to stop him when you walked in."

Mr. Smith finally found his backbone and voice at the same time. Marching over, he stopped in front of Booth and planted both hands on his hips. "Just who the bloody hell do you think you are to barge in here and tell me what to do in my resort?" Smith demanded in a very upper crust British accent. Booth was guessing he wasn't native to the island. Booth didn't bat an eye at the man's outrage. _Hell, Parker gave him worse attitude than this guy._ It was obvious that he was posturing because Brennan had practically emasculated him in front of all of them.

"So you own the resort, do you?" Booth asked calmly.

"Of course not, Agent Booth. I simply have the pleasure of managing the premiere resort on the island. We offer our guests amenities that the other resorts can only dream about," he informed Booth snottily.

"Yeah, I've heard about all the fun your guests have here," Booth threw a glance over his shoulder at the crime scene and had the satisfaction of seeing the sanctimonious prick standing in front of him falter. Smith stiffened as if Booth had assaulted him and turned to leave the room.

"_Wait_!" yelled Brennan, "arrest him," she turned to Derek who had just hung up his cell phone after ordering the crime scene team and ME as Brennan had requested.

"I would like nothing better, Dr. Brennan. But I assure you, it would be pointless." Derek told her gently as if he knew she wouldn't take the news well while throwing Smith a look that told him Derek thought he was slime.

"_What? He deliberately destroyed evidence. That's interfering with an investigation at the very least."_ Brennan could feel her anger rising to a dangerous level then suddenly Booth was standing behind her, his hand discretely rubbing soothingly up and down her back and she was, once again, in control. Smith gave them a smug smile and ambled out of the room leaving behind two people who would have liked nothing better than to shoot the slimy son of a bitch and one who was plotting on how to get him to take a punch at her so she could beat the crap out of him.

"Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan, I am very glad to have your assistance. Dr. Samuels and I have been trying to get something done about this situation since we realized we had a serial killer on the loose, but I must warn you that it will not be easy and you should be very careful who you trust." Derek spoke rapidly as if he was trying to impart this news to them before spying eyes and ears arrived. Booth noted the sincerity in his voice and his gut told him this man could be trusted but only time would tell.

"So, they have friends in high places?" Luckily Derek's mother was American and he understood Booth's use of lingo.

"Yes, Agent Booth. A lot of friends in a lot of high places." He looked like he wanted to tell them more but his radio went off and broadcast that the evidence collection team was on site and would be up within minutes.

"Can you be trusted, Derek?" Brennan asked out of the blue. Derek took no offense. His dark green eyes met hers.

"Yes, Dr. Brennan, I can be trusted. But you will have to decide that for yourself." Derek gave her an almost flirtatious smile and although Brennan seemed oblivious to the way the other man's eyes warmed every time he looked at her, Booth was not. Nor was he pleased. He stepped closer to Brennan until her back rested against his chest and slid the hand that had been stroking her back around her side until it rested possessively on her stomach. Acting instinctively, Brennan placed her hand over Booth's and turned to smile at him over her shoulder. Derek took in the scene with a raised brow then nodded his understanding and backed off immediately, becoming the consummate professional.

"Do we have anything on her?" Booth asked respectfully bowing his head toward the bed just as the techs entered the room and Brennan pulled away to give them instructions.

"Just that her name's Amy White. She's 27 and the usual stats on her driver's license. But I'm hoping you can help with that." Booth nodded but before anyone was notified of anything he had to be sure the victim was really Amy. Taking the proffered license from Derek's hand, he walked over to the bed and looked down at the lifeless form of a vital woman who had been taken from this world much too soon. Looking from the picture on the license to her face, he honestly couldn't tell if it was her and it wasn't because of a crappy DMV picture. The guy had really done a number on her face. Reluctantly calling Brennan over, he had to ask her for an ID.

"I feel confident in stating that this is Amy White," she told him, using her coldest, most remote voice and he knew this one was getting to her and she was desperately trying to pull back behind her wall, distance herself from this scene and everything else. He didn't try to talk to her. This wasn't the place and it wouldn't have done any good anyway. She needed some time to process and he was smart enough to give it to her. So he got out of her way so she could do her job and he did his.

Pulling out his phone, he called Charlie and within minutes had next of kin and their phone number but no way would Seeley Booth notify a parent of a child's death over the phone. That would be callous, thoughtless and cruel beyond belief. He arranged for another agent to do the notification in person and even suggested the guy take Sweet's along because of the circumstances.

They spent five hours at the crime scene. The people that had been sent to work with Brennan were surprisingly capable and they had recovered much, much more viable evidence than she had expected. The body appeared undisturbed so any and all evidence recovered from and around the body would be vital to this case. Brennan watched the ME like a hawk after she saw the look that Derek gave him. He confirmed that Amy had been dead for since approximately 7 AM. Brennan didn't see him do anything overtly suspicious but she wasn't willing to trust anyone except her partner at this point so she asked Booth to call Cullen and arrange for the body to be sent to the Jeffersonian for Cam to do the autopsy. They used the excuse that Cam had access to equipment unavailable on the island and might find something that might otherwise be missed. The ME obviously didn't like it but was ordered to do it so he had no choice. He tried to tell Brennan she couldn't go with him when he left the hotel room and she told him in no uncertain terms that she would not be leaving Amy's side until she was on a plane heading home.

And that's when Brennan knew she was in trouble on this case. She always told her students and her assistants to never call the remains by name to avoid getting emotionally involved. But there were always cases that would push your buttons as Booth called it. They sucked you in and tore your heart out every single second from start to finish and even if the case reached a successful conclusion, you never really laid it to rest. It always stayed with you. She knew this was going to be one of those as soon as she had looked at the driver's license to give Booth an ID and she knew why it was hitting her so hard, she just wasn't ready to think about that yet.

Several hours later they had accompanied Amy from the hotel room until she was put on a plane headed for DC. It hadn't been necessary for them to be present as she was prepared for transport but Booth could see it was important to Brennan so he didn't object. She even insisted they walk out on the tarmac and watch the coffin being loaded, not leaving until the jet was so high in the sky they couldn't see it anymore. It was like she was standing sentinel over someone precious and she couldn't leave them until she knew they were safely on their way home.

Booth was beginning to get very concerned at her behavior. He'd never seen her act like this and had no clue what was going on in that big brain of hers. He asked her if she was ready to go now but got no response so he simply took her hand and she docilely followed him to their rental. That's when he began to get scared. Bone's was not a follower and the idea of her being docile was laughable. He tried to talk to her but she didn't respond.

Thinking he would sit her down and demand to know what was going on when they reached the cottage, he was surprised when she skirted the house completely and walked onto the beach. She apparently found a spot she liked because she sat down and pulled her knees to her chest then opened some papers one of the techs had photocopied for her at the ME's office and stared at them. Booth wanted to go to her right then, demand she talk to him and offer her what comfort he could because it was obvious that something about this case was eating her up but his gut told him to wait, give her a little time. Settling himself on the patio of the cottage, he stood as a silent sentinel over someone who was infinitely precious to him as she stared sightlessly out at the ocean.

Brennan sat on the beach peripherally aware of the warm sand under her, the warm ocean breeze blowing her hair in her face but she made no move to brush it away. She just didn't have the energy when her whole being was focused inward on the thoughts that kept repeating over and over and over until she wanted to grab her head and scream for someone to just please make them stop. But they didn't stop and she was afraid they never would.

Her name was Amy White. She had arrived in Bali two days ago. She was a 27 year old doctor from, ironically, Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, who was spending a week in the island's most exclusive resort as a gift from her proud parents after finishing her residency and before entering a fellowship in cardio thoracic surgery. Brennan could tell from the photos found in Amy's purse that she'd had the tech photocopy that in general appearance, she bore a remarkable resemblance to Brennan herself. She was 5' 7' inches tall 120 pounds, red hair, blue eyes. She knew from the report from Sweets that Charlie had faxed Booth and she had also had photocopied that Amy came from a close family unit. She had three brothers and two sisters who were all local and they all had dinner together at least once a week. For some reason she couldn't fathom, that really twisted the knife in Brennan's heart. Amy had wanted to spend the rest of her life saving lives. And what was ripping Brennan's heart into little tiny pieces was the absolute certainty that Amy couldn't do that now because she had died in Brennan's place last night.


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I am getting to them. My husband has been out of town for a week and thinks he deserves some attention now that he's back. Imagine that. LOL. Hope you enjoy. T.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, Santa didn't deliver, so they're still not mine.**

Brennan almost wished her mind would short circuit so that the questions that would never, ever have adequate answers would go away and stop tormenting her. Why had she lived and Amy died? Well, she did have an answer for that one. At the most basic level anyway. She was alive because she had her very own knight in standard FBI issue armor in the person of one Seeley Booth and he had her back no matter what the circumstances. He would never allow harm to come to her. She knew he would protect her with his last breath. She knew that should make her feel better but it didn't. It actually made her feel worse.

She, Brennan, was the one Newman had targeted but her big, strong protector had shown up and Newman had turned to easier prey. So, if Booth hadn't been here with her would that have been her at the crime scene this morning or would she and Amy both still be alive? Maybe she would have been the worse for wear but a kind, wonderful woman would still have a future. She in no way blamed Booth for any of this she knew this was all Newman's doing and she had no idea why she was feeling the way she was except to think that Amy had been alone, scared, helpless, and absolutely defenseless and that awful man had then drugged her, taken away even her right and ability to use her hands and feet, even her voice to save herself from the terrible things he had done to her made her want to vomit and kill someone at the same time. She shuddered just to think of all the wounds that she had noted from her very superficial exam of Amy's body. That horrible man had taken hours with her and she could only hope that Amy had been given adequate amounts of the drugs to knock her out to where she hadn't felt him breaking her bones or any of the other horrific things he had done to her.

Try as she might, Brennan just couldn't shake the same question. Why had Amy died instead of her? In Booth's version of the world everything that happened was meant to be and occurred to maintain some kind of cosmic balance. Brennan though that was absolute crap but she was willing to logically reason even that theory out if it might help her understand. Ok, cosmic checklist, yeah she could come up with one of those. She was a genius, after all.

She decided to take who would be missed more. Oh, she knew that because of her status as a world renowned anthropologist and bestselling author if she were gruesomely murdered, it would attract worldwide media attention and hordes of people would moan and groan about a life with such potential cut short. At least until the next big story came along and then she would fade into anonymity.

She decided to make the qualifier would anyone remember her on a daily basis five years after she was dead? She didn't doubt that her father and brother loved her and if she died, they would grieve, but she seriously doubted that they even thought of her every day now. She knew she didn't them. So she was putting them down as a no on the five year thing. What about her team at the Jeffersonian? Yes, they were all friends but they were a very well oiled machine meant to work well together. That was their primary function and whoever stepped in to fill her place, not her shoes, but her place, mind you, would command their loyalty. How long would it be before they, even Angela, stopped saying Bren did this and Bren did that? She didn't think it would be five years. She truly hoped Booth would remember her but if he developed the same partnership with her replacement as they had, she just didn't know. Hell, Oliver probably wouldn't even remember her daily five years after her death. _Oh, God, how pathetic was it that the person most likely to remember you the longest after your demise was a psychotic stalker?_ So, overall to that question, she would have to give herself a big, fact check mark in the negative column.

After she noticed the resemblance that Amy had to her, she couldn't resist flipping through the rest of the pictures in the younger woman's wallet and there were hordes of them. Most of them crowded with family members, smiling, hugging and just being a normal family. Whatever that was. Judging from those photos and the report that Sweets had sent to Booth on how badly the family had taken the news Brennan had to say emphatically that she believed every single one of those family members and probably many friends would remember and grieve for Amy every day for the rest of their lives.

Which one of them would help more people over their lifetime? Brennan was very proud of what she did, especially her work with Booth but she worked with the dead. All of her patients were beyond being resurrected by her or anyone else. It was true that she and Booth took criminals off the streets and she liked to think that at least sometimes they kept someone safer than they would otherwise have been by doing that, but there was no way to demonstrate that. Not like being a busy cardiothoracic surgeon at the biggest surgery center in Washington. How many people who might have lived because of Amy's intervention would now die? Would one of them be the one who would have made a scientific breakthrough to cure cancer? The one who would have solved the problem of global warming or become the next President of just the best mom any little girl could ever have? All those things were equally important and Brennan couldn't bear that it was her fault that each and every one of those lives would either be cut short or never exist because of her.

She knew that she wasn't making a lot of sense, not even to herself. This wasn't about popularity. It was about who would have benefited the world in general more and she, in complete honesty, could not believe it was her. So, why had she survived when someone more deserving of life had suffered horrors no woman should ever have to face and then died? She honestly didn't know and she desperately wanted to talk to Booth about it. He had such a way of taking the most convoluted, the most complicated things and breaking them down to their most basic levels and giving her a greater understanding of the situation and herself. But she couldn't do that with this.

She wasn't the only one who thought this was all her fault and she had pulled the report Sweet's had forwarded through Charlie when she had seen the last sentence. She didn't have much faith in psychology but Booth did. He had even made the suggestion that Sweets be sent out with the agent to notify the family of Amy's death. She would make sure he got the report within the next couple of days but she just couldn't bear for him to look at her the way he no doubt would when he realized that she was the reason that Amy had died. She would deal with it, just not today. Unable to find any answers in her own mind, she turned her attention back out over the ocean, hoping that it would bring her just a few minutes peace from the torment she didn't think she would ever escape.

Booth gave her an hour. He knew that with her brainpower, she could solve just about anything that could be solved using brainpower alone during that time, but throw emotions in there and she needed a lot longer to process. His eyes never left her and she never moved from her spot. Booth had noted the slight physical resemblance between Brennan and Amy immediately when he had seen the photos in her purse once it was located. And to him that was all it was, slight. They had the same general build, the hair color was close and they both had blue eyes, but Booth didn't think anyone else in the world had eyes exactly the color of Brennan's. Eyes that showed her every thought and emotion to anyone who cared enough to look. Amy was pretty enough but Bones, his Bones, was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Yeah, he knew he was a little biased here but he just didn't think the resemblance was that strong, but he hadn't wanted to mention that there even was one in case she hadn't noticed.

He knew that this case was hitting her hard, but usually she would be out for blood, demanding he get off his butt and go arrest Newman with or without enough evidence. She would want to just get him off the street so he couldn't hurt anyone else, putting aside any personal feelings until the case was over and then she would deal with them. But Booth could tell whatever was bothering her was damn personal and it was eating her up inside. She looked more defeated than he'd ever seen her before and he'd had enough. Rising, Booth toed off his shoes and stepped onto the hot sand just as his phone rang.

"Booth."

"Um, Booth, um," Booth sighed and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, he didn't have time for this right now. Brennan needed him.

"What is it Charlie?" Booth could hear Charlie clearing his throat over and over, obviously working up his courage to tell him why he had called but he just didn't have the patience for that right now. "Charlie, you have three seconds to tell me why you called." Booth knew his voice had a bite to it but he just couldn't seem to help it.

"Look, Booth, I've been really busy all day with that list you gave me this morning. I just now got around to reading that report from Sweet's that I faxed to you this afternoon. I know I should have read it first but I just didn't think. If I'd had any idea what it said I never would have sent it." Charlie's voice told Booth he was sincerely sorry but Booth still didn't have any idea what he was talking about. Wait. This afternoon at the ME's office, one of the tech's had brought Brennan a stack of faxes. She had looked through them and handed some to Booth and they had been from Charlie. But she had already been acting off before then so it wasn't likely that whatever the hell Charlie was yammering on about was the cause of her introspective mood. But, still, it didn't hurt to have all the available information at your disposal.

"And why wouldn't you have sent me the report, Charlie?" Booth growled because he hadn't seen a report from Sweets.

"Well, you know, Booth."

"Let's just pretend I don't know Charlie and you tell me all about it," Booth's voice suggested that it would be advisable for Charlie to do just that and immediately. Three minutes later, he flipped his phone shut and headed toward his partner, absolutely livid with Lance Sweets. He just didn't know about the kid. Every time he gave him a chance to prove himself, the kid seemed to do something to make Booth feel the need to kill him D.E.A.D. dead. He had just told Charlie to pass on the suggestion that Sweets might want to have relocated before he and Brennan returned from Bali to avoid that happening this time. The kid had just used his last free pass.

Settling himself onto the sand beside his partner, he mimicked her posture and waited to see if she would acknowledge his arrival. She didn't. Gently nudging her shoulder with his, he finally got her attention and she turned just her head to look at him. His heart broke for her when he saw the lost little girl look on her face. He didn't even think she was aware of the tears streaking down her face. Pulling her close with an arm around her shoulders, he leaned and told her firmly, "This is not your fault," and she crumpled into his arms, sobs shaking her as she held the photo of Amy to her chest. Booth knew she needed the release of tears so he just held her and stroked her hair until she cried it out. It seemed like an eternity later that she lifted tear drenched blue eyes that begged for reassurances that this truly wasn't her fault to his.

"What if it is my fault, Booth?" her voice was heavy with her recent tears and Booth wanted to punch Sweets so badly right now he could taste it.

"This. Was. Not. Your. Fault," he caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger and held her face steady, never loosing contact with her eyes. "The only person responsible for the death of Amy White is Newman, no matter what Sweets says," he saw her eyes flicker in embarrassment for hiding the report from him but he wasn't about to call her on it. Not tonight, anyway.

"I thought you believed Sweets could be helpful in our investigations," he cut her off before she could get started on how psychology was a soft science, nothing could be verified and therefore it really didn't merit the label of being a science in the first place. He could tell she was just talking to try to take her mind off of worse things, but he could help her with that.

"Yeah, well, what do I know? How smart can he really be? He's only twelve, after all. He's wrong about this one, Bones." His voice held such conviction that she yearned to believe him, but how could she when all the other evidence pointed to the contrary? Booth saw her eyes cut away and he was having none of that. Cupping her face between his palms, he lowered his forehead to hers. "Have I ever lied to you?" he saw her eyes widen at the little bite in his voice but he had her attention now as she barely shook her head. "Then trust me on this one, Baby. This was not your fault." Booth was so lost in the way she was looking at him that he didn't even notice that he called her Baby. He loved the way she looked at him at times like this. It made him feel ten feet tall.

Without a word, she burrowed into him like she wanted them to inhabit the same body and he had to admit that he was ok with that idea. Brennan didn't know how he did it, but she thought he could probably convince her that the sky was green if he looked into her eyes like that when he said it. Right now, she didn't even care if he was lying to her, she believed him and that was all that mattered. She didn't even care that he had called her Baby. He could call her whatever he wanted as long as he kept the doubts and guilt at bay and he never failed to do so. She was beginning to think an eternity in his arms wouldn't be long enough. Snuggling closer and closing her eyes, Brennan gave herself over to her knight in shining armor for safekeeping. Feeling her relax against him Booth closed his arms even more tightly around her. Resting his cheek on the top of her head, he just held her as the sun sank into the horizon.

Thirty minutes later, Booth dragged Brennan into the beach house and insisted she order something from room service. Their lodgings came with the bonus of being able to order whatever they wanted from the kitchen whenever they wanted it. Not that Booth was going to allow himself or Brennan to eat anything they were sent from the resort. Since Newman wasn't around Brennan tonight, it was unlikely their food would be drugged but Booth wouldn't put it past the bastard to try to drug them and take her from the beach house while they were unconscious from the drugs. But they had to try to make things appear normal, so they ordered dinner. Thirty minutes later, Booth opened the door and accepted two large bags of food and a note slipped into his hand when he tipped his fellow FBI agent.

Cullen had been absolutely infuriated that some lowlife, rapist, murdering son of a bitch had tried to bribe him to remove Booth from the scene so the piece of slime could then harm a woman that Cullen considered a valuable asset to his agency. Truth be told, he had been extremely fond and somewhat protective of Brennan since she had helped them with his daughter, Amy. He also had no doubts whatsoever that if he had called Booth back and something had happened to the doctor if would have destroyed Booth and he thought of that agent as a son. This bastard was going down. Hard. To that end, he had sent Booth five other agents who had arrived this afternoon. They were all very, very good and all five would be working undercover. No one except Booth and Brennan would know they were there, not even Derek.

Taking the food into the kitchen, Booth set it down and unfolded the note. It said the team had swept the house for bugs and surveillance that afternoon and it was clean including the phone lines but they would sweep every day, disguised as the cleaning crew. It also let him know that they had Newman under continual surveillance. There was no way they were letting that animal hurt another woman, even if this wasn't their turf, he had gone after one of their own and that made it their fight. There was one man watching the beach house at all times, taking photos. When they left the house, there were two men who trailed them. These men could be taken out at any time Booth chose. He was given a time to meet with the agent coordinating everything on the beach later that night. Booth would be there.

Looking up from pulling containers of food it was safe for them to eat out of one of the bags, he smiled at Brennan as she wandered aimlessly into the kitchen. For the first time in a long time, he was out of his depth with her. He didn't know how to help her, to make her feel better and it wasn't just that. His conscience was currently kicking his ass and telling him that he had to find a way to tell her about last night and soon because even if she could forgive him for what had happened if he didn't come clean soon, she would never forgive him for keeping it from her. But his gut told him that she'd had just about all she could take today. Yeah, he was sure telling her about last night would take her mind off Amy but he thought her reaction would probably not be pretty. Not that he wasn't prepared for her to be furious and as long as it was an honest reaction to what had happened the night before, he would take whatever she threw at him but if he told her tonight, how could she not remember the horror of what they'd seen today and acquaint her own drugging with that? And Booth couldn't bear for their lovemaking to be tainted by something so ugly.

"Hey, Bones. Hungry?" She shrugged and shuffled her feet and Booth took a longer look at her. Her eyes were on the floor, she had both hands behind her back and she was scrubbing at a spot on the floor with her toe. She looked like a guilty little girl about to confess her sins to Daddy. Booth had a pretty good idea what she was going to tell him but he was fascinated by this side of her that he'd never seen before.

Brennan had thought long and hard about what she was about to do. She felt guilty for hiding the report from Booth in the first place and told herself stoutly that nothing Sweets had ever said had really changed things between her and Booth. In fact, she sometimes thought Sweets was a little jealous of how close she and her partner were. But that wasn't the point. The point was that even if she didn't believe in what Sweets did, he had proven that he could help guide them on some cases and she had withheld something from Booth that might help them put away a murderer for personal reasons and that was unacceptable. Even though Booth already knew what the report said, it somehow made it more real to see it in writing. What if he changed his mind about what he'd said to her on the beach when he actually saw the report? She had to know. _If this report from Sweets changed the way her partner felt about her, then their partnership wasn't as strong as she had thought and she would rather know that now than later_. Oh, who was she kidding? Her knees were shaking and she couldn't look at him as she sought him out in the kitchen, the stupid report clutched behind her back. Well, she might as well get it over with then she could stop worrying about his reaction.

"Ihidthisfromyoutoday," she rushed out, head downcast as she thrust the crumpled report toward him. Booth couldn't control his grin. Contrite Bones was adorable. Stepping closer, he tipped up her chin until she looked at him.

"So, am I supposed to ground you now?" he laughed.

"Booth, this isn't funny. I deliberately hid something that could be important to the case from you," she cried, slapping the piece of paper against his chest. Stepping closer, he backed her into the counter, caging her in with a hand on either side of her hips.

"Come on, Bones. It is a little funny. I already know you hid the report from me so why the big production?" She refused to meet his eyes and he suddenly knew exactly what she was thinking. Stepping right up against her, he cupped her face in his hands when she looked at him. Resting his forehead against hers, he did his best to reassure her. "Nothing anyone ever says or writes down on a piece of paper will ever change the way I feel about you. Never. Are we clear?" Booth saw her eyes widen even further as his head descended but he couldn't make himself stop.

"Booth, what are you doing?" she asked as his lips skimmed hers lightly and came back for more.

"Consider it more practice," he urged, nibbling on her bottom lip. _Yeah, she was a real believer in practice makes perfect. She could go with that._ Sliding her arms slowly up his chest and around his neck, she opened her mouth to his seeking tongue and lost herself in the things that only this man could make her feel. All the horrors of the day disappeared, all her doubts about herself and them just fell away as feelings, good, warm feeling bombarded her.

Long, long minutes or was it hours later, Booth tried to pull back but Brennan's tongue slid into his mouth, stroking and tangling with his, her body rubbing seductively against his. He told himself just one more kiss then he would stop and dived back into the world of bliss that the two of them created just by touching each other. Many, many kisses later, he knew if he didn't stop now he wasn't going to. It was already a real struggle to hold it to kisses when his hands ached to explore that exquisite body, to pick her up and carry her to bed and no way would he do that without telling her what had already occurred between them. When her hands began to roam his body, he caught them and gentled his kisses, easing her back to reality. Breathing hard and aching with arousal, he leaned his forehead against hers and watched as her eyelids fluttered open. He was delighted to see her eyes with dark with desire. He knew she wanted him and he knew she knew herself well enough to know it, too. Now, he just had to hope that he could use this week to make her realize that it would be good between them. To convince her to give them a chance and hope he hadn't already ruined it with his inability to control himself.

"I'd have to say we have that down pat," he couldn't help the husky, breathless tone of his voice.

"Oh, I don't know, Booth. One can never practice too much." _Oh, God, he was in trouble. _ _She had actually fluttered her lashes at him. He just couldn't take her using her teacher voice and flirting at the same time. _ He had to get some distance between them. Stepping back, he blindly grabbed their food and headed for the dining room. Brennan followed more slowly with a very satisfied smile on her face. It was kind of fun to mess with Booth. She'd have to do it more often. It was really cute how he got all red and flustered.

She couldn't help but notice that he had been very turned on by their little practice session and Brennan was pleased by that fact. She was so tired of his confusing signals that she found that episode refreshing, at least his body was honest about how it felt about her. She could work with that. She knew that between the case and her lecture schedule at the symposium, the next few days wouldn't have a lot of room for romance, but then she didn't need all that much time. She just needed to be sure that he wasn't going to just back off completely like he usually did when she indicated interest in him.

There had been so many times over the length of their partnership that she had thought they were heading toward them being together but every single time she had subtly shown him she was interested, he had ignored it. Now she knew subtlety wasn't her strong suit, but she also knew that Booth wasn't stupid where women were concerned. Well, she had to admit, considering some of his choices for companionship, that was actually debatable, but he knew when someone was interested but he ran from her every time and she was to the point of it was now or never. She would always be his friend and partner but she was tired of his mixed signals. If he didn't want her, she needed to accept that and find someone who did. She figured this trip would tell her all she needed to know. So far, the chances of an intimate relationship between them looked good but only time would tell.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello, people. I'm back. After this one, I'm off to the jungle, Now I Know is calling to me. Please remember to review. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Dinner finished, they cleared the table and spread what information they had been able to collect about the case on the table. It really wasn't very much. They had the information that Charlie had sent them on Amy White. It pretty much outlined her life and that was sad to say that such a vital, driven young woman came down to less than ten pieces of paper. They had a list of the other victims from Dr. Samuels and were supposed to meet Derek at his office tomorrow morning so they could take a look through old files and see if any of this had been reported and then recanted as they had discovered was Newman's trademark. Derek had told them that there was nothing official but the good thing about bureaucracy was that there was always duplicate paperwork and once a report was written, it spread out to different departments. It was almost impossible to remove all traces once that happened. You just had to know where to look and, luckily, Booth did.

Booth noted that Brennan avoided even touching Sweets' report and knew they needed to talk about it. He didn't know what the hell the kid had been thinking to write something like he had and then send it when he knew Brennan would see it. He should have known she wouldn't take it well. Well, Booth would make sure he never, ever did something like that again. It was time to put the fear of Seeley Booth into the young psychologist and he would start tomorrow but tonight he needed to reassure his partner.

"You know, Bones, I doubt Sweets meant for you to take what he wrote personally," Booth told her softly. Her look telling him he was an idiot gave him a clue that she wasn't buying it.

"How else am I supposed to take it, Booth?" she asked incredulously, snatching up the report and reading Sweets' closing remarks aloud. "In conclusion, since the subject seems to have obsessively fixated on Dr. Brennan within minutes of meeting her and manipulated circumstances to put her within his reach, it is unlikely that he intended her harm. It is my belief that Dr. Brennan, however unknowingly, expressing a sexual interest in another man in the presence of the subject while rejecting his advances drove the subject to the level of rage necessary to incite the brutality of the attack on Amy White." Booth had to admit that it did sound pretty damn personal when she read it like that. Tossing the paper aside, Brennan lowered her head onto her folded arms on the table with a sigh and Booth had to smile at her drama. That was just so not like Bones, it was much more like her Angela persona. _God, he really hoped she didn't act like Angela by the time this was over._

"Bones, this was not your fault. It was that sick freak Newman's. There was no way we could know that he would target someone else last night, that this was his personal hunting ground. The only thing we knew was that he was after you and we didn't even know that for sure until last night. All we had until then were rumors from Hodgins and you know how he loves his conspiracies." Booth stroked her hair as he tried his best to nullify the damage reading that damned report had done. She turned her head slightly and one blue eye peeked out at him.

"We should have known, Booth. I should have known." Her voice sounded almost shamed that she hadn't known and he couldn't stand it.

"Are you psychic now? Did you suddenly become omnipotent and forget to tell me about it?" he demanded and had the satisfaction of seeing her head pop up.

"Booth, you know that there have never been any verifiable studies documenting the existence of psychic abilities and I find the belief in an omnipotent being that is in control of everyone and everything at all times to be completely illogical." Booth was smiling by the end of her tirade. "I still should have known," she whispered.

"How? How were you supposed to know?" He could see she didn't have an answer for him, just the anguish of the guilt she felt and probably always would to some extent but, with the information they'd had at the time, there wasn't a damn thing they could have done to prevent the tragedy of what happened to Amy White. "And if it's your fault, then it's just as much mine because I damn sure warned Newman off and made it clear to him that we were together." He could see the instant denial that he was responsible spring to her lips and then he could see her mind start to whirl. He saw the second she accepted what he was telling her as truth. This was not her fault.

"Promise me that we'll get him before he hurts anyone else, Booth," her big blue eyes blazed with determination and she reached for his hand.

"We'll damn sure do our best," he linked his fingers with hers and they just sat there with that promise ringing between them until his watch went off, signaling it was time for him to meet with the other FBI agent.

"Sorry, Bones. It's time for me to take a little stroll on the beach," he told her quickly, hoping she wouldn't argue. He should have known better.

"I don't know why I can't come with you, Booth," she whined. "It's not like you won't just tell me everything when you get back and besides, it would be much more natural for both of us to take a romantic stroll down the beach." She looked at him and fluttered her eyelashes, her lower lip protruding slightly. He fought the urge to nip at that pouting lip. _God help him if she ever really learned to flirt, he would be toast. _It wouldn't really hurt anything for him to take her but he needed the meeting to be brief and he knew that wouldn't happen with her along. She would have endless questions that he didn't mind answering when he got back but would only prolong the meeting, increasing the chances of being spotted by the person Newman had watching the house.

"You shouldn't pout, Bones. It's unbecoming of a forensic anthropologist," he teased as he rose from the table.

"Fine, then," she grumbled, seeing he wasn't going to change his mind. "I guess I'll just have to take a bath and go to bed all by myself." The throaty purr in her voice implied that he would be missing out on a hell of a lot if she went to bed by herself and almost stopped him in his tracks. Swallowing hard, he managed to keep moving forward, but just barely. _Oh, yeah, he was toast_.

Booth returned thirty minutes later to find Bones in bed and sound asleep. He wasn't sure whether to be glad or upset. Her little tease as he was leaving had kept him all hot and bothered the whole time he was talking to the other agent and he had double timed it back here, eager to get back to her. But, he actually thought it was a good thing she was already asleep. He just didn't think he was up to having the talk with her tonight and he was sure she wasn't ready to hear it after they day they'd had. Taking a quick shower, he slipped into bed beside her, automatically scooting over and reaching for her and, as if she sensed his nearness even in her sleep, she moved into his arms as naturally as if they had always slept cradled together.

Brennan was wrapped in a cocoon of warmth and safety where nothing bad could ever touch her then suddenly she wasn't. She was thrust into a world of pain and violence and someone was trying to hurt her. She was trying to fight back but she felt woozy and out of it and knew she had been drugged. She looked up and saw Newman standing over her with a smug smile on his face and she knew he was probably stronger than her right now but no way was the sick freak smarter than her. She pretended to be knocked out by the drugs until he got close enough then she used one of her kicks that could break bones if there was enough power behind it and she put everything she had behind it, hitting her target and seeing him grab his groin and fall to the ground writhing in pain with a great deal of satisfaction. He should have been down for the count but he wasn't. He rose and came after her again, incensed that she had fought back and she fought with everything that she had, ever inner shred of strength flowed outward as she inflicted as much damage as she could but she could feel herself getting weaker and knew the bastard was going to win, his taunting laughter floating around her.

Booth woke to a hard punch in the solar plexus that almost took his breath away. He immediately knew the struggling woman in his arms was having a bad dream and he could guess what it was about. He immediately released her, calling her name to wake her but she didn't wake, she thrashed around on the bed throwing punches as if she was fighting for her life her sobs breaking Booth's heart. He couldn't stand to see her locked in whatever hell her dreams had conjured. With quite a bit of difficulty, he managed to grab both of her wrists in one on his hands and pin them above her head. Having no other choice, he used his body to pin hers to the bed, using his free hand to lightly tap her face, "Bones, it's me, Booth. Wake up, Baby. It's just a bad dream. Come on, Baby, wake up." He saw her eyelids flutter with relief but his heart broke at the panic and helplessness in their depths.

Brennan felt the weight of a body on her and she could hear Booth talking. She knew she had been dreaming but the feelings the dream had generated were so real that they carried over to her waking state. She knew on some level that she was safe, that Booth would never hurt her but she reacted to the dream. "Get off of me!" she screamed renewing her struggles. Booth immediately rolled off of her and watched warily as she scrambled to sit with her back against the headboard, her trembling arms holding her knees to her chest as her labored breathing echoed throughout the room. The lamp came on and her panicked eyes focused on Booth and she immediately felt herself start to calm down. If Booth was here, she was safe. He wouldn't let anyone hurt her. After several long minutes, her breathing had returned to normal and Booth had slowly moved to sit beside her. "I had a bad dream," she finally offered a little sheepishly.

"I noticed," he replied rubbing his abused stomach.

"Oh, God, Booth, did I hurt you?" her hands pushed his away and she was stroking the washboard abs of his stomach, then moving to his chest and arms and then to his back to make sure she hadn't damaged him permanently. When she grabbed the covers, obviously intent on checking out his lower body, he managed to grab her hands.

"I'm fine, Bones," he assured her, holding her hands. Tilting her chin up with a finger, he forced her to meet his warm, brown eyes. "Are you ok?" She nodded but couldn't repress the shiver that ran over her. Silently opening his arms, he was pleased to see that she didn't hesitate to launch herself at him, winding up seated in his lap with his arms tightly around her and she felt warm and safe and like she never wanted to move from this spot. Logically, she knew that was impossible but she could always dream. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly, stroking her hair.

Did she want to talk about it? Not really. She knew that it was just her subconscious responding to the attack on Amy White and her guilt over the matter. It wouldn't serve any useful purpose to remind Booth of the awful specifics of the case but she needed to know something. "What kind of man can do something like that, Booth? What kind of man needs a woman to be drugged and helpless? What kind of man gets pleasure out of hurting a helpless, defenseless woman like that?" She shuddered as the images from the morning mixed with the images from her dreams and she burrowed closer to her anchor in the storm as his arms tightened protectively.

"I don't know, Baby. Some people just have something broken inside them and they do unimaginable things to each other." Brennan noticed that he called her Baby again but she was starting to like it so she didn't say anything. Yawning, she nodded. She knew Booth would never understand someone like Newman, he was much too honorable to ever take advantage of someone who didn't know what they were doing. She just needed some logical answers but she had been doing this long enough to know that she wouldn't always get them and that, despite what her father had told her as a little girl, monsters did exist.

Booth was a little concerned by her questions. Not by the content, he knew she needed answers, it was just the way she operated, but he could hear the absolute disgust in her voice for anyone who took advantage of someone not in complete control of their faculties. _Would she equate him with Newman after he told her what he had done? _He didn't think he could bear that. He had to bite his lip to keep from just telling her right then and there but she'd had enough for the day and he couldn't clear his conscience at her expense. He would never do that but he vowed no more touching or even looking until he came clean with her and she made the conscious decision for their relationship to develop further. Just as he made that decision, he felt her relax against him in sleep. Turning off the lamp, he eased them both back down in the bed, holding her close and telling himself to enjoy it because he was determined to tell her tomorrow, then she might never let him touch her again. Hell, she might just consider him just as much of a monster as Newman.

Booth and Brennan entered the beach house in a very big hurry. They had spent the morning at police station with Derek and had found that evidence that three of the four attacks that left live victims had been reported to the police. It was obvious that someone had tried to remove all traces of the reports but they had missed the copies that got filed on an administrative level. Derek appeared mortified that he hadn't even known to look there, but neither Booth nor Brennan entirely trusted him yet. Time had gotten away from them as they scoured the evidence room for any evidence that had been collected from the three women hoping for something that would give them DNA but came up empty. Now, Brennan was due at her first lecture at the symposium in less than two hours and she still had to change and they were scheduled to do a video conference with the Jeffersonian. Brennan never went anywhere without the equipment that allowed her to keep in touch with her house of reason.

Quickly setting up the equipment and initiating the link, Brennan chatted with Angela for a few minutes and was told that Cam would be ready to go over the autopsy results in about thirty minutes and Hodgins didn't have anything yet. Brennan decided to go ahead and get ready for her lecture so they wouldn't have to cut Cam short and told Booth she had to shower and change, not to talk about anything important until she got back. Just as she left the room, Angela's smiling face came back on screen.

"Hey, Studly, how's it going?" she asked, eying what she could see of the room behind Booth.

"It's going fine, Ange," he responded, hoping she would let it go at that. No such luck.

"Oh, come on, Booth, Bren is occupied elsewhere," Angela rubbed her hands together gleefully and leaned forward, "now we have some time to really talk. So how's it really going?" Booth just shook his head at the avid curiosity in the artist's eyes.

"Oh, you know, Ange. Bones has a psychotic stalker whose killing women on the side, just another day at the office for me and Bones." Angela pouted and glared at him.

"That's not what I meant and you know it, Seeley Booth." Her grin was back and Booth knew her mind had taken another turn. "How do you like the wardrobe I packed for Bren? Has she worn the bikini yet?" Booth could actually feel himself blushing as a picture of Brennan in that bikini formed in his mind's eye. Angela's giggles told him she could see that Brennan had definitely worn the bikini and he had liked it.

"You are an evil woman, Angela Montenegro," he told her seriously.

"Yeah, and don't you ever forget it," she teased laughingly. Booth forgot all about Angela when he saw someone else move to look into the camera over her shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing there, Sweets?" Booth demanded, looking around to make sure Brennan wasn't in the room even though he could hear the shower running. He didn't want her to see the psychologist and get upset again. Sweets swallowed hard at the ire in Booth's voice. Charlie had passed on Booth's message and it had scared the crap out of Sweets but he really thought he could help on this case and he could explain the other, if Booth would just listen and he figured his best chance was on camera where Booth couldn't actually get his hands on him.

"I can explain, Agent Booth," Sweet's began nervously, only to be cut off by Booth's incredulous voice.

"You can explain? There is no explanation for what you did, Sweets. It was cruel and hurtful. You had to know how she would respond to something like that so I'm not really interested in your explanations," he snapped.

"What?" asked Angela curiously. "Sweets, did you do something to Bren?" she asked suspiciously, her eyes narrowing dangerously and for just a second Booth thought about just siccing her on the young man, but decided against it. Even though he was pissed at Sweets, the younger man didn't deserve the wrath of Angela.

"Agent Booth, that form is an interdepartmental form that I'm required to fill out any time I go out in the field with an agent. It should have gone straight to the records department to be filed. I have no idea how it was sent to Charlie, but neither you nor Dr. Brennan should ever have seen it. I can't tell you how much I regret that she did." Sweets' speech was rushed as if he expected to be interrupted, but Booth could hear the honest regret in the younger man's voice and Booth could feel himself softening. "How is she?" asked Sweets softly.

"How the hell do you think she is, Sweets?" Booth's ire quickly rose back to the surface as he recalled his partner's suffering over what appeared to be a freaking clerical snafu. "You accused her in black and white of being responsible for the death of Amy White, so how do you think she responded to that, genius?" Angela gasped and grabbed Sweets' arm, trying to swing him around to face her fury, but Booth had to give the kid kudos for tenacity. He shook her arm off, his attention never leaving Booth's face.

"I'm so sorry that she saw that and it caused her distress, Booth. But I can help on this case if you'll just let me. Please. Let me at least try to make amends for hurting Dr. Brennan by helping to put this guy away." Sweets almost begged. Booth was about to tell him he didn't want him anywhere near this case and his partner when he felt a soft hand fall on his shoulder.

"If he thinks he can help us stop this monster, Booth, let the boy talk," she told Booth softly but the look she turned on Sweets was anything but soft. He could see that he had lost a lot of ground with the good doctor and he was absolutely devastated that she had read the report he had written. He certainly wouldn't have been so candid if he had known she or Booth would ever see it but he stood behind his conclusions and his belief that he could help. He deeply regretted the pain he knew he had caused her by Booth's reaction but he could only apologize and hope she wouldn't shut him out completely.

"Dr. Brennan, I'm so sorry you saw that report, but I'm certain that I can help you on this case if you'll just give me the chance," Sweets stopped talking and blinked in astonishment as Booth slid over in his chair and Brennan sat down beside him, turning her back and pulling her hair aside for him to zip her dress, then handing him a necklace and holding up her hair for him to fasten it then giving him a soft smile over her shoulder when he did so.

"I'm listening if you have something else to say, Sweets," Brennan snapped, turning her attention back to the young psychologist, but he could only open and close his mouth in shock. Angela had moved out of camera range and was doing a happy dance with a hand over her mouth to muffle her squeals.

"Um, guys, is there something else we need to talk about?" asked a red faced Sweets. Booth and Brennan looked at each other in confusion.

"No," they answered emphatically and simultaneously. Cam came on camera seconds later and unceremoniously pushed Sweet's aside. Booth and Brennan listened stoically as the medical examiner professionally went over the many, many injuries sustained by the unfortunate Amy White, never once revealing her disgust and revulsion that one human being could do this to another. Brennan was surprised to learn that Amy had fought back. She had been weak and drugged but she had tried to protect herself and Cam had found DNA under her fingernails. She didn't have a sample from the suspect so they had nothing to run it against but as soon as they had enough evidence to compel a DNA sample they had the son of a bitch.

Brennan felt a pride unlike anything she had ever felt rise in her at the news that Amy, weak, drugged, scared and probably knowing she was going to die had done everything she could to let them know who did this to her and she made the woman a silent promise that they would take this predator down so that she and all the others he had hurt could rest in peace.

Just as Cam finished her spiel, Hodgins rushed excitedly into camera range, waving a sheaf of papers as he skidded to a halt. "I knew it," he exclaimed excitedly.

"Are you planning to share with the rest of us or not, Hodgins?" Booth asked with not a little sarcasm. Hodgins' head snapped up from his papers.

"Can the sarcasm, Gman. I did you a big favor here. I didn't think the FBI would work quickly enough so I put my own PI team on this and they found just what I thought they would." He waved his papers around.

"You have a PI team at your disposal full time?" asked Sweets, eying Hodgins oddly.

"Don't ask," Angela advised, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, focus here. Now can we get back to whatever has Hodgins so happy?" asked Booth once he had everyone's attention.

"Ok, so fifteen months ago, the resort where you are staying was in trouble financially. It was sold to a consortium who had unlimited funds to pour into it, converting it into the premiere resort on the island and its facilities have been upgraded until it is the primo place to stay on the island…,"

"I already know all this, Hodgins. Please get on with it," Booth urged impatiently, feeling Brennan's hand fall to his thigh and he felt his impatience vanish.

"Fine," snapped Hodgins, put out that Booth was cutting his time in the limelight short. "It took some doing, but my people were able to cut through the red tape of all the shelter companies and trace the consortium. The CEO listed is none other than Andrew Newman." Hodgins' eyes dared Booth to tell him he already knew this and Booth couldn't.

His own people were still trying to sort out the multiple companies the transfer had gone through and probably wouldn't have it sorted out for several days. Booth didn't have to ask if Hodgins was sure. He wouldn't have shared the information if he wasn't.

"I have more if you're interested," Hodgins shared, making sure the FBI man knew his feelings had been injured by the earlier attitude. Booth simply made a sweeping gesture with his arm, indicating the floor was Hodgins. Hodgins grinned and continued, "The Rydells and the Vaughns are listed as the other owners. I know both of their families, Booth, and these are good people. My investigators didn't find anything to indicate that they're anything other than investors that Newman duped into going into business with him. They did, however, find that your Mr. Smith is a long time employee of Newman and that he tends to handle those nasty clean up jobs when Newman goes too far." Booth was glad of the information and did find it very interesting, but it didn't help them at all. It would help round out a case against Newman eventually, but it in no way gave them probable cause and that's what they needed to get the freak off the streets.

"That's all really good information, Hodgins," Booth praised and Brennan patted his thigh in approval as Hodgins' chest puffed up with pride before them. "But it doesn't give us cause to bring him in. We need DNA."

"I can get his DNA," Brennan said softly from beside him. Booth's roar of "NO!" drowned out the ones from the four people on the other end of the camera. Brennan ignored her colleagues and turned to her partner. "Booth, we need to get his DNA to stop him and I can do that. All I have to do is invite him to dinner then take his silverware," she sounded as if her plan was a given but no way was Booth going along with that.

"Forget it, Bones. You're not spending one second alone with that freak," he growled, his voice telling her not to bother arguing but when had that ever stopped her?

"I have to agree with Agent Booth on this one, Dr. Brennan. I think it would be a very bad idea for you to show interest in Newman at this point." Sweets broke in.

"Why?" demanded Brennan, "I would think it would calm him down and he wouldn't hurt anyone else while we collect evidence."

"Exactly," returned Sweets, "it would calm him down but it would also strengthen his obsession with you. He may tell himself that he's in love with you and you're in love with him but never doubt that he will hurt you at the very first opportunity and he'll hurt you badly, just as he did those other women. My suggestion is actually just the opposite. I would like for you and Agent Booth to be very openly affectionate in public," Sweets blushed at his suggestion and Booth and Brennan looked at each other questioningly, thinking his discomfort was disproportionate to the little handholding they thought he was suggesting.

"Oh, for God's sake, guys, he wants you to play grab ass in public," Angela supplied in disgust as Sweets turned beet red but nodded at her words.

"Yes, Angela, thank you for that rather crude assessment of the situation," Sweets told her condescendingly. Cam, seeing Angela stiffen and turn red, smoothly stepped between the two before things got out of hand. Turning Sweets attention back to Booth and Brennan she led Angela away, murmuring soothingly the whole time. Booth was damn glad he didn't have Cam's job. Brennan turned to him and he mouthed he would tell her what Angela meant later. Turning back to Sweets, they gave the boy wonder their full attention. "If you two are affectionate when you know Newman will see you, it will just fuel his rage. He won't be able to control it. He never learned self control so he will go after someone to relieve that rage." Brennan gasped in shock. No way was she putting someone else in danger, but before she could object, Booth turned her to face him.

"It could work, Bones. We have people on Newman around the clock. There's no way he can hurt someone without our people knowing it and if we catch him even trying it will give us a reason to get him off the streets. We can still weasel a dinner invitation out of the Rydell's or the Vaughn's and you know he'll show up, but I think we should go with this," he urged her, eager for any plan that would get her mind off the crazy thought of showing interest in the creep.

"Are you sure he can't hurt anyone else, Booth? I don't think I could take that." Her eyes searched his and found only truth, as always.

"Our people won't let him hurt anyone else," he promised, stroking her cheek softly. Sweets felt almost like a voyeur as he watched them. They had obviously forgotten he was even there. Not enough of a voyeur to stop watching as he was fascinated by the increased sense of intimacy between the couple. He would be willing to bet they were sleeping together and they were going to have a long talk about that when they got back. Hodgins, not liking the look on the psychologists face, cleared his throat loudly enough to get Booth's attention and jerked his head in the wide eyed psychologist's direction. To his surprise, the pair didn't jump apart. Booth stopped stroking Brennan's cheek but other than that they maintained their close positions.

"Ok, Sweets, we'll go with your plan but if anyone else gets hurt, I'm holding your personally responsible," Brennan told him seriously, turning her camera off in the middle of his sputtering protests. She turned to Booth, rather proud of that little move, to find him shaking his head at her in chastisement.

"Not nice, Bones." He had to laugh when she stuck her tongue out at him. _Damn, she was acting more like Angela every day._

"He deserved it, Booth," she insisted and he had to agree. "We should go or I'll be late." Booth rose and gathered his notes. Brennan wouldn't be out of his sight but he could still be working on the case while she was lecturing. He was certain it wouldn't hold his interest. No offense to his Bones, that just wasn't his thing. The talking might not hold his interest but he wasn't certain he'd be able to keep his eyes off her since the dress she had chosen to wear for the lecture was just this side of decent, a sleeveless, blue silk sheath that stopped several inches above her knees. It flowed over her curves subtly, suggesting they were there instead of crassly revealing them. Angela didn't play around when she put together a wardrobe, even the things Booth knew she had chosen for "work" were sexy as hell. He was very much enjoying the view as Brennan strode toward the door in front of him, almost crashing into her when she stopped suddenly and turned to him.

"Booth, I don't know what Sweets meant by us playing grab ass in public. Don't you think you should explain it to me before we go out in public?" Brennan did get a mental picture from the words but she found it hard to believe that Sweets was recommending that she and Booth engage in that type of behavior in public. Brennan felt a shiver run down her spine as an open smile of male anticipation spread over Booth's face. Stepping right up against her, he stroked her cheek.

"How about you just trust me on this one and I'll show you when the time's right? Okay?" She didn't like going into a situation without all the available information at her disposal but this seemed important to Booth so she nodded. Turning her mind back to her lecture notes, she couldn't shake the feeling that she had just made a deal with a very sexy devil.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey, guys, it's just me again. This is just a bit of silliness that Musie came up with today so give her a break if Brennan is a little OOC. Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth sat in the large room reserved for Brennan's lecture and had to admit that, after her comments of everyone only being interested in getting drunk and getting laid, he was surprised at the number of people attending the lecture. Every seat was filled and there was very little standing room left along the walls. Maybe it was that she was a bestselling author but it still made him proud that she could draw this kind of crowd and she was holding their interest and entertaining them at the same time, her Angela persona firmly in place as she took the final questions. Booth saw that she was relaxed and studiously avoided looking in the direction of the last seat on the left of the front row, the seat where Andrew Newman had already been seated when they had entered the room.

Booth had accompanied Brennan to the front of the room and stayed by her side, touching her in some way until it had been time for the lecture to begin. Newman had made no effort to approach her. He just sat there and watched her with those cold obsidian eyes until she wanted to scream at him to stop. Booth had taken a seat in the front row and hadn't been able to tear his eyes away from Brennan the entire time. He couldn't tell you everything she'd said but he could tell you every time she had bent over or crossed her legs. He could see the pleasure on her face as she announced the lecture was over and received a standing ovation with a wave of people starting toward the front of the room obviously intent on speaking with her personally. To Booth's way of thinking way too many of those people wanting some personal time with his Bones were young and male. He thought it was high time to introduce Brennan to the concept of playing grab butt, show these jackasses that she was most definitely not available. Since Booth doubted his ability to get Brennan to stamp property of Seeley Booth on her butt, he figured this was his next best choice.

Their eyes met as he stood and she smiled happily at him as he took the few steps necessary to bring him to her. He saw her eyes widen slightly when he didn't stop, but pulled her tightly to his chest and bent his head. One hand splayed across the small of her back as the other one buried itself in her hair and his lips opened over hers and he kissed her very, very thoroughly with not a whimper of protest from her. In fact, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back just as thoroughly. When Booth finally raised his head, he was a little foggy but more than half of the men who had been waiting to speak to Brennan had melted away so he was more than a little pleased with himself. Glancing to where Newman was seated, Booth saw the man glaring at him with hatred, practically vibrating with rage. Taking Brennan by the hand, Booth pulled her through her disappointed admirers and out of the room. They had to meet Derek in thirty minutes.

They were stopped in the hallway by the Rydell's and the Vaughn's who were absolutely gushing about the popularity of Dr. Brennan's lectures. They insisted that Booth and Brennan join them for dinner tonight and Booth politely accepted as the two couples unknowingly played right into their hands. Assuring them that they would see them at eight, Booth ushered Brennan out the front door of the resort just as both of their phones rang.

"Booth," Booth barked and heard his contact for the undercover team telling him they might have a problem with Derek Komang, to be careful what they information they shared with the man until they finished checking him out, just as he saw every drop of color drain from Brennan's face and she swayed on her feet. Without even saying goodbye, Booth flipped his phone closed and took hold of Brennan's elbow, pulling her close and supporting her with his body and an arm around her as he took the phone from her limp hand and identified himself. Fury rushed over him at what he heard.

"Why in the hell are you calling Dr. Brennan about something like this, Derek? You should be calling me, not her. Yeah, we'll be there as soon as possible." Cursing he flipped her phone shut and turned his attention to his shocked partner. Luckily, the valet pulled up with their car at that instant and he ushered her into the car, pulling out into the parking lot and stopping.

"Hey," he asked gently taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger, "are you ok?" No response. "Bones, are you in there?" He was starting to get a little worried, even more so when her eyes turned toward him.

"How, Booth?" she demanded, her eyes filled with pain. "You said your people were watching him so how could something like this happen?"

"Hey, we don't even know it was the same perp. All we know is what Derek told you and according to my people, he might not be all that trustworthy. Bones, we don't know anything until we get there, ok?" He held her eyes until he saw the shock start to recede and the professional detachment start to settle in them, well, as much detachment as it was possible for her to get on this case. He didn't break eye contact or release her chin until she nodded and whispered, "Okay." Booth was so going to kick Derek's butt, whether he was a dirty cop or not. There was absolutely no reason for him to call Brennan instead of him and Booth certainly didn't believe the story that Derek could only find Brennan's number. He'd just bet the detective couldn't find his number, not when there was a beautiful woman he could call instead.

Booth didn't believe this victim was another in the series they were investigating as soon as he was given an address that wasn't in the resort. He became more and more certain that this case would not be connected with theirs as they passed into what could only be called a bad part of town. He squeezed Brennan's hand reassuringly and realized that they had been holding hands since they left the resort. He suddenly felt like a teenager again, however inappropriate the feeling might have been. By the time they entered the building of the address they had been given, Booth would have bet his life on their being no connection but they had to check it out.

It took him and Brennan less than five minutes in the miniscule apartment to determine that this woman had been beaten but she was in her late 50's and there was excessive drug paraphernalia on scene. Booth was sorry for the loss someone had suffered but he was pissed that he and Brennan were apparently getting jerked around by the locals and he was livid that Brennan had been upset before anything had been verified. When they left the scene, Booth was certain after his little talk with Derek that would never happen again.

Booth and Brennan headed back to the beach house for another link up with the Jeffersonian. There really wasn't that much they could do at the present. They had secured the crime scene and had all evidence shipped to the Jeffersonian. The FBI or its sister agencies in several countries were tracking down the women whose names Dr. Samuels had given them who had left the resort alive to interview them and find out if they wanted to press charges. They had already received exhumation orders on two of the ones who hadn't been lucky enough to survive and Cam should be receiving the remains soon. They were having trouble tracking down a next of kin in Sweden for the third exhumation but they were working on it. He and Brennan had already scoured every inch of the evidence room at the police station and there was no evidence on any of those cases to be found. Not to say there was none there but you could bet Booth and Brennan wouldn't be given free access to where it might be kept which is where the undercover team came in. So, the only thing they could really do was keep Newman occupied and keep in touch with the squints. Booth was glad to see that Brennan was much more relaxed on their return journey to the resort even if she didn't hold his hand.

"Brennan," Booth cringed and watched Brennan closely as she answered her phone but he could hear Angela so he knew this conversation wouldn't freak her out. He had no warning that it would freak him out.

"Yes, Ange. Everything is going fine."

"Yes, Ange. I'm wearing the clothes you told me to."

"Yes, Ange. I do look at your note every day just like I promised."

"Yes, Ange. I am being you."

"I'm not really sure, Ange. Hold on," not bothering to cover the mouthpiece, Brennan turned to Booth. "Booth, Ange wants to know if we're having fun playing grab ass." Booth almost ran off the road and looked around to see Brennan's eye fixed firmly on his face, patiently waiting for an answer. There was no good answer to that question so he just grunted. "I think that was a no," she told Angela firmly.

"Fine, Ange. I'll tell him already. Booth, Angela said if we're not having fun playing grab ass then you're not doing it right. Perhaps you should explain the concept to me, Angela. Booth does seem somewhat reluctant to discuss it." Brennan slapped his hand away from her phone as he tried to take it from her and keep them on the road at the same time. Giving him a good glare, she switched the phone to the other ear. "Ooohhh, so it does mean exactly what it sounds like? Yes, I do think it is interesting that Booth was reluctant to discuss it with me."

"Well you'd lose that bet, Angela. I most certainly did wear the red bikini."

"I don't know, Angela. Yes, I think he liked it but I can ask him if you want."

"Yes, Angela, we do have to practice being undercover. It's not as easy as you would think. How do we practice?"

"Booth would you stop it," she yelled in exasperation, once again slapping his hand away from her phone. "I have no idea what's wrong with him, Angela. He's acting quite oddly and seems very determined to get my phone. Booth do you want to talk to Angela?" _God, no, he didn't want to talk to the nosy artist, he just didn't want Brennan to talk to her any more. _Shaking his head, Booth returned his attention back to the road and prayed Brennan's battery died or she suddenly lost coverage before she gave Angela anything really juicy.

"Yes, Ange." Brennan pulled the phone away from her ear and Booth could clearly hear Angela's ear splitting squeals of delight. "Well, he sort of had to, Ange, as part of our undercover personas and, of course, when we practice so we look natural doing it in public." Booth cringed. Angela had just gotten juicy information he had no desire for her to have.

"Bones," Booth tried to pull her attention from the phone as he had the feelings were about to get a little sticky for one Seeley Booth. Brennan ignored him as she listened intently to whatever Angela was saying then he wished she was still ignoring him when she turned a look on him that said he should be ashamed of himself for using trickery to make out with her.

"Yes, Angela, I do realize he's a man," her voice made it clear that she expected much better behavior out of him than that of other men. "Yes, Angela, I do realize that some people would feel the need to seek revenge but I find that type of behavior juvenile…," Booth's huge sigh of relief was cut short as Brennan paused and listened intently to Angela.

"Hmmm, when you put it that way, Angela, it really does seem necessary for their continued growth and development. Yes, Cam, I accept your logic as well." Booth swallowed hard. _When had Cam entered the conversation?_ _Crap, he was going to be in deep, deep trouble if he didn't do something._ He shuddered to think what those three could come up with as adequate punishment to help him continue to grow and develop.

"Bones, why don't you tell Angela how much fun you're having being her?" Booth practically shouted but he couldn't think of anything else and saw with relief that Brennan was distracted but he doubted Angela or Cam were. At least for long. _He had to get her off that damned phone._

"Yes, Angela, I am enjoying being you and think I am becoming quite proficient at emulating your behavior." Booth noted that Brennan stiffened in what appeared to be affront.

"It's not funny, Ange. I do you quite well." She listened with narrowed eyes. "Fine. Outline the parameters." She listened intently looking a little hostile and Booth was just glad that attitude didn't seem to be aimed at him. "Cam will be the final vote."

"Agreed," she snapped, closing the phone without saying goodbye. Booth looked over, halfway afraid to ask but he was curious.

"Um, everything all right, Bones?" he asked cautiously.

"Everything's fine, Booth," she assured him, her mind clearly elsewhere. Seconds later, they pulled up to the beach house and Brennan seemed in a hurry to get into the house. Maybe she had to go to the bathroom, Booth thought, following her more slowly. Her very odd behavior continued in the house. She very quickly set up the link and left the room like a steak of lightening. Booth sat down in front of the screen as Hodgins came on screen a couple of minutes later.

"Where's Dr. B?" questioned Hodgins.

"I'm right here," a breathy voice that made Booth sit up and take notice said from the doorway of the bedroom. Booth turned toward that voice and his jaw dropped. She was dressed in one of Angela's torture outfits that he hadn't had the pleasure of seeing yet. The way it hugged her curves, it had to be made out of lyrica or spandex. The top was a sleeveless, collarless, piece that left most of her shoulders bare and ended just a few inches below those luscious breasts. It zipped together and she had left a lot of delicious cleavage on display. The shorts, if they could be called that, were hip huggers that barely covered the lower cheeks of her rear. And it was a stark, flat black contrasting vividly with her hair, skin and eyes. Booth was struck speechless. Hell, he was just trying to keep from drooling on camera as he could hear Cam and Angela in the background.

Brennan sauntered across the room and into view on the camera. Booth saw Hodgins eyes widen and he did manfully try to keep his eyes on her face. For about two seconds then a wolf whistle rent the air.

"Wow, Dr. B., I have got to say you are looking very fine today," Hodgins offered with sincerity and a flirtatious smile. Brennan sashayed closer to the camera and leaned over on the table, giving Hodgins a better view of her cleavage. Booth would have objected but he was too busy staring at her butt where she was bent over right freaking in front of him and trying to restrain his hands from reaching out and grabbing those firm globes.

"Thank you, Hodgie," she gushed in that voice that sent shivers down Booth's spine. "You're looking pretty fine yourself." She gave him a flirtatious smile and looked up at him with those big baby blues and the bug man was toast. He became a teenager, speechless and blushing when a beautiful woman came on to him. _What the hell?_ Whatever the hell was going on, Booth'd had enough. Standing, he pulled Brennan up from her bent position and pushed her behind his back to block Hodgins slack jawed view.

"Hey, bug man, eyes up," Booth snapped his fingers in front of the monitor but Hodgins seemed to be in a trance. "What the hell are you doing, Bones?" he demanded furiously to his partner who was currently trying to push past him to get back to the monitor. _No way in hell was she going back over there for Hodgins to ogle her and for her to actually flirt with the freaking bug man. _None of this made sense until he heard Angela's cackling laughter and then he began to get a glimmer when he looked down at Brennan and the sultry vixen was gone and his partner was grinning up at him in accomplishment. He still wouldn't let her by to get back to the monitor so she leaned to the side.

"Did I win, Cam?" she demanded. Cam's face immediately filled the screen and she was laughing almost uncontrollably.

"Yes, Brennan, you most definitely win. I would have to say that you do a better Angela than Angela does." Booth couldn't believe his ears. _The three women had almost given him a heart attack over a freaking bet?_

"Ange, do you concede?" Brennan asked but got no reply. She looked a little hurt that her friend didn't acknowledge her skills, but Cam came back on screen.

"Angela can't come to the phone right now, she's too busy literally rolling on the floor laughing her butt off." Booth saw Brennan's smile of victory widen until it almost split her face.

"I won," he couldn't help but smile back. "I won, I won, I won," she chanted jumping around like a victorious five year old, but a five year old sure as hell didn't have a body like that and Booth's eyes were locked on the way her parts swayed and jiggled when she jumped. He was already hot, hard and almost panting when she jubilantly threw her arms around his neck and planted a loud, smacking kiss directly on his lips. Without even realizing he was doing it, Booth dragged her out of camera range, tunneled a hand into her hair and returned the victory kiss with interest.

Jerking her against him, he blindly sought her mouth, pushing her lips apart and sending his tongue spearing into her mouth to claim it as his. Brennan returned the kiss just as aggressively, her tongue tangling with his and her sharp little teeth nipping at his lower lip. He had her backed against a wall with one leg draped over his hip, his hand lowering the zipper of her top when Cam's voice broke through.

"Hello, people. We can't see you, but we can still hear," she kept repeating, her voice full of warning. Booth shuddered as he pulled away from the clutching woman in his arms. It was the hardest thing he had ever done as her arms tightened trying to pull him back and her mouth lifted trying to tempt him back in for just one more kiss.

"Yeah, Cam. We're just discussing something. We'll be right with you," Booth offered after clearing his throat several times, ignoring the snorts of disbelief coming from the monitor. His full attention was focused on Brennan as her eyelids fluttered and opened over eyes dark and glassy with passion. Dropping his forehead to hers, he whispered, "We will finish this later but we have to work right now." He saw her eyes start to clear and she nodded. Leaning down, he brushed a tender kiss across her lips before releasing her. "Do you want to get changed?" he asked softly.

"Will it bother you if I just wear this?" _Hell, yeah it would bother him but he would deal with it._ His smile told her it was fine and she returned the smile. Hand in hand they walked back around the monitor and got to work.


	19. Chapter 19

**Here you go, for those who have been screaming for the next chapter. I'm thinking of doing a one shot, a sort of deleted scene for how each Booth and Brennan deal with their UST. Let me know if anyone is interested in reading.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

"Ok, Dr. B, we ran the blood sample that Booth sent from you and found a combination of compounds very similar to GHB but no way did some kid cook this up in his garage." Hodgins voice was steady but his eyes kept darting south of Brennan's face as she sat in front of the monitor, now primly zipped up, but, still it was some sight to see and Booth couldn't really blame the other man for being unable to keep his eyes off what had to be one of the finest sights in the world but he sure as hell didn't like it. After snapping his fingers in the vicinity of Hodgins face and directing his eyes upward for the third time, Booth stalked from the room and returned seconds later with one of the thick bathrobes the resort supplied to the guests. Brennan looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"Just put it on, Bones, so Hodgins can concentrate, ok?" Booth urged, holding out the robe for her to stand up and slide into, making sure he was standing in front of the monitor so that the bug man didn't get another show as she slipped into the robe.

"This is ridiculous, Booth. Hodgins is a scientist. Yes, I behaved in an overtly sexual manner toward him but I'm certain that he is able to compartmentalize any feelings that behavior might have generated and separate them from his work," she lectured.

And he was just as certain that the bug man was practically panting every time his eyes looked past her neck just as Booth himself was. _God, he needed her to be covered up,_ he admitted, as he bundled he up like she was headed to Siberia, tying the belt tightly so no slippage would occur. He had always been aware of her sexually, even when they were working but not like this. He was so hard he hurt, unable to keep his eyes from roving over that luscious body on such tantalizing display before him. And the pictures running through his head tied his gut into a tight knot and trapped his attention until he only caught every third word or so of the discussion going on around him. He guessed he should be ashamed of himself for having such erotic thoughts of his partner but he wasn't, he was just trying to figure out how soon he could get her into some of those positions. Gently pushing a still lecturing Brennan back into her chair, Booth seated himself and turned back to the monitor to see three people looking at him knowingly.

"Continue," Booth gestured grandly at Hodgins, ignoring the knowing smirks after looking at Brennan and seeing she was clueless.

"Yes, Hodgins, please continue," Brennan seconded, giving Booth a laughing look. _Ok, maybe she wasn't as clueless as he thought._

"You ok there, Booth?" asked Angela laughing so hard she could barely speak.

"I'm fine, Angela. Do you have anything else or not, Hodgins?" Booth asked, desperate to divert attention from himself.

"Yes, Booth, as a matter of fact, I do have something else. The compounds used and their purity lead me to believe that this drug was manufactured in a lab and it wasn't done by a lab tech. We are talking full blown biochemist skills to put this baby together."

"Is there any way we can trace it to a particular lab or biochemist, Hodgins?" asked Brennan, her interest caught. Hodgins beamed at the question.

"There are three compounds that we can't identify. They are all three most closely chemically related to aphrodisiacs targeting females," Hodgins rushed through those words and his face turned beet red as he avoided Brennan's eyes but he manfully continued, "developed, patented and marketed by none other than Newman Pharmaceuticals." The bug man finished with finesse. Brennan nodded.

"Is there any way to find out what chemist within the company developed those particular drugs," Brennan wasn't squeamish but she knew that they all knew she had been drugged and no way was she using the word aphrodisiacs. She could just imagine what they were all already thinking with the way they were looking at her and Booth and she wasn't giving them any ammunition. Hodgins was shaking his head.

"No, it's considered proprietary information, but I was able to find that a certain doctor whose employment with Newman was terminated three years ago who has applied for patents to drugs with a very similar chemical signature to the ones we found in your blood."

"Interestingly enough, he just happens to have relocated to Bali about 18 months ago," added Cam, "and I just got an address." She read it off as Booth jotted it down. Booth and Brennan were stunned with how much their team had come up with in the short amount of time they'd had the case and it was all great information to have. It still didn't give them what they needed to pick up Newman but with every bit of information they got a little closer.

"That's great, guys. Thanks for all the hard work, but it's after 6 here and we need to get ready for dinner." Cam, Angela and Hodgins just nodded their understanding, they knew the partners were going to try to get Newman's DNA and wished them all the luck in the world. They wanted the monster off the streets, too. Just as Brennan reached out to sever the link, a breathless Sweets jogged into view.

"Oh, thank God, I thought I was going to be too late. I need to talk to Dr. Brennan." Brennan and Booth just blinked at him and he knew he wasn't yet forgiven for his latest transgression but maybe this would help. Sweet's attention was caught by Brennan. "Dr. Brennan, you look really hot," he told her, surprised when she stiffened and quickly glanced down, Booth looked furious and the three people on this side of the camera exploded into laughter. Booth calmed down when he looked over at Brennan and saw she was sweltering in the robe he had encased her in.

"You can take it off, Bones," Booth told her. She gave him a grateful smile but shook her head and glanced at Sweets. Booth nodded his understanding and Sweets found out they could make him feel irrelevant apparently anywhere on the planet. It wasn't confined to his office. "What do you want, Sweets?" Booth almost growled, eager to end this conversation and get Brennan out of that robe. Only because she was hot, of course, and he didn't want her to be uncomfortable. _Oh, who the hell was he kidding_? She was ten times as hot out of the robe as she was in it and he couldn't wait to see her out of it again no matter how uncomfortable it made him.

"I wanted to talk to Dr. Brennan about how to behave at dinner tonight," Sweets rushed into speech only to be interrupted by Brennan.

"I am cognizant of proper deportment in social dining situations, Sweets," snapped Brennan, obviously offended.

"What the hell is your point, Sweets?" Booth snapped, sending a shiver down the younger man's back with his tone and the way he was glaring at him. He was telling Sweets that he was treading on thin ice and if he upset Brennan again he would regret it. Sweets got the message loud and clear. Sweets swallowed hard but he met Booth's gaze levelly.

"My point, Agent Booth, is that if Newman is at dinner as you anticipate, certain behaviors by Dr. Brennan will keep him off balance, push his buttons and that's what you want to do with him. You want to keep him volatile and he won't be able to control the rage that what he wants isn't just falling into his hands for very long."

"What kind of behaviors?" Booth asked suspiciously before Brennan could, "You already told us to play grab ass in public. What the hell else do you want us to do?"

"And I'd be willing to bet you have been the aggressor in all your public displays of affection, Agent Booth," Sweets could read the answer on their faces and smiled gloatingly. "The only thing that is going to do is focus Newman's rage on you, Agent Booth. He will be volatile but he will be plotting on how to get you out of the picture. Dr. Brennan needs to make it very clear that her sexual interest lies in you and he will not be able to draw it away. She needs to continually snub him in a public setting while getting very touchy feely with you right in his face." Booth didn't think Sweets took a breath until he got all of that out then he looked like he was waiting for the inevitable argument but the partners just looked at each other and shrugged. They could do that. Sweets looked at them suspiciously, "You're not going to argue with me?"

"What's your problem, Sweets?" Booth snorted. "You told us what you want us to do and we'll do it so I don't see a problem. Do you?"

"Well, no," Sweets looked like he wanted to argue now but he didn't have a reason to. He could only scratch his head and feel like, although he had gotten exactly what he'd asked for, he had been outmaneuvered.

"Well, then, goodnight all. We've got places to go and psychos to piss off," Booth joked reaching out to cut the connection.

"Wait!" yelled Angela and Booth dropped his hand with a sigh. Angela stepped in very close to the camera and motioned Brennan in with a crooked finger. "Wear the blue dress tonight, Bren."

"But, Ange, you said to wear the blue dress when I…," Brennan was confused. She had been following Angela's directions closely and she had big plans for that blue dress.

"I know what I said, Bren, but just trust me on this one. Wear the blue tonight." Their eyes met and Brennan nodded. Wishing her friend a good night, she stood up and gratefully peeled the hotter than hell robe off, raising her arms and pulling her damp hair away from her neck. Booth was so caught up in the sight before him that she was full screen on camera for almost a full minute before he remembered to sever the connection.

"Holy crap, Dr. Brennan is HOT!" they heard Sweets exclaim just as the connection was broken. They looked at each other and grinned, then Booth snickered and they were laughing so hard they were leaning on each other for support. But that was ok, when one chased psychotic killers for a living, one had to find one's amusement where one could. Finally sobering, they found themselves in each other's arms. Giving Brennan an tight squeeze of affection, Booth released her and turned her toward the bathroom.

"You need to get ready for dinner, woman. We have a killer to catch," Unable to resist, he gave her a sharp smack on the rear, his hand lingering longingly on that perfect lyrica clad ass. Without a word, Brennan walked away, her ass swaying exaggeratedly and Booth watched ever single wiggle and sway until she disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door.

Booth stopped in the doorway of their bedroom to watch as Brennan finished fastening dangly blue earrings to her dainty earlobes. His eyes greedily roamed over her and his aching body was brought to full arousal, a state he was becoming intimately familiar with at all times. He had thought things had been bad before but since he had seen and touched that luscious body so intimately, he was finding just catching her scent or hearing the sound of her voice was enough to bring him to full attention. He couldn't function like this. It was pulling his focus from the case where it should be and he had to find some kind of relief soon or he was going to either just strip her where she stood and push her up against a wall somewhere, he liked to think he would at least make sure it was somewhere private but he wasn't even certain of that, or go stark raving mad. It could go either way at the moment.

The only light in his world clouded by desire was that she had been just as involved as he in the kiss they shared this afternoon. He _knew_ she was attracted to him and he prayed that when he came clean with her after dinner that she would understand and at least be willing to talk to him about a future for them. Actually, what he hoped was that she would drag him to bed and do the things that were repeatedly running through his mind to his body until they were both too exhausted to move but he was willing to settle for her forgiving him for taking advantage of her.

And he didn't know whether to thank Angela or curse her for the dress that Brennan was wearing tonight. He wasn't sure what kind of material but it flowed over her form and moved with her body. It was made of some sort of iridescent material that caught and reflected the light and was the deep blue of the ocean where it took a deep drop, the color of her eyes when she had come apart in his arms. _God, he had to stop thinking like that or they would never make it through dinner. _The dress had a halter top that plunged all the way to her navel to a 4 inch band that basically caught on the swell of her hips. The skirt skimmed her hips and was cocktail length but the slit up the right side allowed her freedom of movement as it extended to mid thigh. It had no back whatsoever and it was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. The changing color, the way it appeared that if she moved just the right way, the band clinging to her hips would slip and reveal the perfect ass he knew to be under there. The way you could catch just a glimpse of the insides of her breasts when she moved just right, it gave the appearance of revealing everything while just giving you teasing glimpses that made you want more. Just like the woman herself.

"Booth," his name being called in a voice suggesting it wasn't the first time pulled him from his fantasies. Pushing away from the door frame where he had been lounging, he tried to appear as if he had been lost in thought and not erotic fantasies but the laughter in Brennan's eyes as they met his in the mirror told him he wasn't all that successful. Saying the hell with it, he allowed every bit of heat he felt in her presence to show in his eyes as he slowly walked toward her. She would have to be stupid to not know he desired her by now and stupid was one thing no one could ever accuse her of being. It was about time the good doctor got a good dose of the old Seeley Booth seduction charm, he told himself as he reached her. One of her hands was holding her hair atop her head and the other was apparently having trouble putting the last pin in place to hold it. Without a word, he tangled his fingers with hers, allowing her to show him what she needed him to do. Holding her widening eyes in the mirror, he secured the pin and lowered his head until his mouth just brushed her ear as he allowed the back of his hands to lightly skin down her bare arms.

"You look beautiful tonight, Bones," he whispered into her ear, his voice deliberately husky while continuing to hold her eyes and gave her his very best sexy, crooked half smile. He heard her quick intake of breath and felt the shiver that ran over her. _Oh, yeah, he still had it. It had been so long since he had used it, he thought it might have rusted but he definitely still had it. _He already knew he was in for a very uncomfortable evening thanks to Sweets and Angela but nothing in the rule book said he couldn't enjoy it and give back as good as he got as long as he did it subtly and let her appear to be the aggressor and he was thoroughly looking forward to that.

"Thank you, Booth," he was pleased to see that she swallowed twice before the words came out. His nose nuzzled behind her ear and he inhaled deeply, smelling the mango bath products that the resort provided for her use and something indefinable that was pure Brennan. He loved that smell.

"You smell delicious." Her eyes widened and she swallowed again but didn't try to answer. Still holding her eyes, the tip of his tongue came out to taste the spot just below her ear that he knew made her crazy and he could see her biting her lower lip to hold back a groan. "And you taste delectable."

Brennan met Booth's eyes in the mirror and had no idea what to do. If it had been any other man, she would have known exactly what he wanted and she thought that she and Booth had made progress, that she was ready to move on to a more intimate relationship with him. She was certainly enjoying the freedom to be physically affectionate with her partner but this was on a case and anything they did here was sort of pretend. It didn't really reflect on their real life and when she thought of taking the chance of making her feelings known for real, she thought of him laughing at her and how that had made her feel and a tight feeling of dread formed in the pit of her stomach. Yes, she knew Booth had said that was a misunderstanding and she believed him but he had never explained and even a full explanation didn't negate the pain and misery she had experienced. She wanted Booth with every fiber of her being and she was sure that she wanted him forever, she just didn't know what he wanted, other than her body and she was too afraid to ask him. Well, she damn sure better figure out what she was going to do because by the time they got back to the cottage, she had a feeling there would be no stopping Studly then.

"We should go," she said throatily, spinning away from him. Her pulse was racing, she knew her face was flushed and her nipples were points beneath the scant material of her dress. She knew he couldn't miss that she was very aroused but then so was he, she noted, glancing discreetly at the tenting in his pants. Avoiding his eyes, she attempted to give him a normal smile. Hiding a grin at how flustered she was, Booth held out his elbow and she took it graciously, allowing him to escort her to her chariot.

To Booth and Brennan's dismay, Newman wasn't present at the table when they arrived. The Rydells, Barbara and Jack, and the Vaughns, Bunny and Frank, greeted them gaily and offered them the best champagne in the house. They appeared to have already been imbibing, celebrating what a success Brennan's appearance at their symposium had been. They were very nice people and Booth and Brennan soon found themselves chatting easily and having a very good time. Barbara, already a little drunk on success and champagne, brought up Newman and freely told Booth and Brennan that he had approached them almost two years ago about putting the money together to buy this resort and make it into something spectacular. At the time, Jack and Frank had both recently retired from the same commodities firm and were driving their wives, who were best friends, insane so the women jumped on the band wagon. The figured it would give the husbands and themselves something to do and they were right.

They had jumped into it with both feet. Both women were used to the best being available wherever they stayed so they had assessed everything from the washcloths to the spa treatments that were available and had gone to town, pumping millions into the resort. And they had done their job well. It was definitely the primo destination on the island and they were usually filled to capacity, requiring you to book at least six months in advance. But when Newman had come to them with the idea of the symposium, they had jumped at the opportunity to get their pride and joy even more exposure and they were all big fans of Brennan's books. It didn't take Booth long to figure out that even though they held the purse strings and made a lot of changes around the place, they didn't really have any knowledge of the day to day operation and they certainly didn't appear to know about any of the attacks. Booth decided not to bring it up tonight since they were all so tipsy but he and Brennan would definitely be interviewing the four tomorrow.

"Dr. Brennan, I would like to offer my apologies for Andrew's uncouth behavior at dinner the other night. I have never seen him act like that and I certainly told him that it was obvious that you and Agent Booth were deeply committed to each other and he owed you an apology." Booth and Brennan's eyes met at this. They both knew this little talk had probably fueled the rage Newman released on Amy that night, but there was no point in this woman knowing that. It would only cause her unnecessary guilt and pain.

"It wasn't your fault," Brennan responded, placing her hand on Barbara's on the table, absolving her of much more than Newman's bad behavior. As soon as Brennan pulled her hand back and sat back in her chair, Booth leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"It wasn't your fault, either, Bones," she turned calm eyes to him.

"I know, Booth," and he saw in relief that she did know it. That such a young, promising life had been taken would always cause them both sadness and anger but at least the guilt was gone. He smiled directly into her eyes and fingered a stray curl that had escaped her upswept hairdo.

"Dance with me?" There was a small band playing some slow, sexy music in the background. Booth was disappointed that Newman hadn't attended the dinner and given them the chance to get his DNA and, let's face it, given him a chance to get very up close and personal with his partner but he wasn't about to miss the chance to at least hold her in his arms on the dance floor. Without speaking, she nodded and placed her hand in the one he extended when he stood up, excusing them from the table. Walking onto the dance floor, Brennan turned and Booth pulled her against his chest. And it was spontaneous combustion.

Brennan draped herself across Booth, her arms sliding around his neck and her body leaning against him so pliantly that he was supporting her weight. Not that he minded. Far from it. He reveled in the way her breasts flattened against the hard muscles of his chest, the hard little points stabbing him through her dress and his dress shirt. His gut had been tangled with a knot of need all day and feeling her this close, tightened it painfully. He was instantly hot and hard. Her legs brushed against his with every swaying step and her head nestled into his shoulder.

He slid his arms around her to pull her even closer and his hands found…skin, acres and acres of soft, silky skin. His hard on began to throb and everywhere she touched him felt like his skin was on fire. _God he felt like he was burning up from the inside out. That he was going to burst into flames and end up a pile of ashes. _ With a groan he didn't even try to hide, his big hands spread out and began to explore, slowly stroking up and down every inch of skin left bare by that sexy dress. Encouraged by the little catches in her breath and the whimpers she couldn't hold back, one hand moved lower, resting on the upper curve of her ass and pulling her close as he rubbed her against his aching erection, both shuddering at the contact. The other hand slid around her side, his thumb slipping under the material of her dress, unerringly finding and stroking the hard nipple, the dim lighting and the crowd on the dance floor hiding what he was doing from prying eyes.

Brennan, too, felt the heat. Booth's big, hard body supporting her made her feel fragile and feminine, usually not feelings that she enjoyed but tonight she did. Either he was generating an enormous amount of heat or she was having a heat stroke, she mused as his hands slid around her waist and started caressing her back and those long, slow strokes that couldn't be called anything else. She stiffened a little at first but soon relaxed against him again, biting down on her bottom lip to hold back the whimpers as one of those magic hands slid to her ass and pulled her against a very prominent erection, rubbing her against him. She couldn't hold back the whimpers and groans as she took over the job and started moving her hips in small circles, her core tightening and getting wetter, every time she grazed his hard length. Booth growled deep in his throat and his hips involuntarily thrust against hers before he could control it. She felt his other hand begin the journey around her side and by the time he actually stroked her hard, aching nipple, she almost sobbed in relief. _God, if he kept this up, she was going to come right here on the dance floor_, she thought as his hand skillfully slid under the waistband of her dress and cupped her naked ass.

_Oh, God, she's not wearing panties_ was the only thought running through Booth's head as his hand cupped and kneaded the soft, firm globes of her ass, grinding her against his hard on and unable to stop. He could feel his control slipping and couldn't do anything about it. All her could see, hear, feel and smell was Brennan. Even though he hadn't even kissed her tonight, he could even still taste her from earlier. She was his universe, his reality, his desire for this one woman overriding every sense he possessed until he was reduced to big, hard ball of vibrating need.

Brennan could actually feel Booth's control slipping and it made her feel beautiful and sexy but it also told her she needed to get them out of there, they definitely needed to take this somewhere more private. Lifting her head to tell him that they needed to go, Brennan met the cold, hard eyes of Andrew Newman as he stared directly at them, his face a mask of fury. Brennan actually shivered at the violence in the man's eyes.

"Booth," she said urgently, trying to get his attention and she did. As soon as she lifted her head, his mouth swooped down on hers, pushing her lips apart and his tongue darted into her mouth to slide against hers. She kissed him back hungrily for several seconds until her senses returned and she saw that Newman was still staring at them. Reluctantly pulling her mouth away, she put both hands on one of his arms and shook him, hard. "Booth, Newman is here," she told him again and saw the fog start to lift from his eyes. Breathing hard, Booth pulled himself together.

"Where is he?" The deep husky voice sent shivers down Brennan's spine that she couldn't control. Mentally giving herself a slap, she did her best to slip into work mode.

"He's at a table at the edge of the dance floor and he's staring at us." Regretfully pulling both hands from beneath Brennan's dress, Booth smoothly turned Brennan until he was facing Newman and the man was indeed staring at them. If looks could kill, Booth would have instantly been dead as the man glared at him with hatred. Booth just gave him a level look that told the other man to bring it on, he wasn't afraid of him.

"What should we do?" Brennan was now supporting her own weight and already missed the warm, hardness of Booth pressed against her.

"I think it would be too suspicious for us to try to take silver wear from his table. Besides it looks like he's just sitting at the table. I don't think he's eaten and I don't even see a glass. So, I guess that leaves pissing him off." Booth reasoned through their options.

"I think we've achieved our goal," Brennan shuddered as Newman, once again, caught her eye.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Booth agreed, getting another look at the furious Newman. "Do you want to just go?" Brennan nodded without meeting his eyes. Reluctantly releasing her, Booth kept Brennan in front of him with his hands on her hips when she tried to move to his side. She gave him a questioning look over her shoulder and his raised eyebrow was explicit enough that even she got it. Blushing furiously, she turned around but she stayed close and directly in front of him and his hands dropped away as they left the dance floor. They politely bid their hosts good night and headed for home.

As they entered the parking garage, Brennan felt a shiver run down her spine and looked around behind them. Newman was following them. He was trying to be unobtrusive but he was definitely following them. "Booth, he's following us," she whispered loudly and Booth had to grin. Subtle would never be her strong suit.

"I know, Bones." Booth had picked up on the creep as they stepped out of the hotel.

"What do we do?" she whispered. Sweets' instructions were at the forefront of each of their minds but Booth didn't know if he could handle that right now. Before he could formulate the words to tell her that without it seeming like a rejection, Brennan took the initiative. _And man did she follow instructions well_.

She shoved him back against the wall and pulled his head down to meet her lips, her tongue parting his lips and demanding entrance. He tried to speak, to tell her this was a bad idea but she used his mumbling to her advantage, pushing her tongue inside his mouth to stroke against his and, just like that, he was toast, hers to do with as she pleased. And she apparently pleased to drive him freaking insane. Her hands were all over him, stroking, rubbing and plucking until she had, once again, reduced him to the level of a caveman with a weeklong hard on. Her core rubbed against his erection with such drugging pleasure that his whole body was focused on the next contact of those circling hips, even as his hands intruded under the halter top of her dress and cupped her generous breasts. Suddenly he realized that her hands were on warm flesh. She had managed to get his shirt completely unbuttoned and parted, her ardent mouth leaving his, despite his whimper of protest and trailing down his neck to his chest. When the tip of her tongue started tracing the delineation of his chest muscles, Booth retained just enough sanity to know he had to get them out of there. NOW. Grasping her face in both of his hands, he tilted it up toward his and couldn't resist kissing her passionately. "Car now," he panted against her mouth, knowing that if she kept it up, he would have her pinned against the wall with her dress around her waist and himself planted as deeply inside her hot, tight sheath as soon as humanly possible.

Brennan looked up at Booth's blazing eyes and was very dizzy for a moment. She saw him standing there peeling her grasping hands from his body and firmly telling her no and when he mentioned the car, she had a clear vision of her straddling his lap and doing her very best to temp him into having sex with her then and there and he had told her no very firmly. She was fuzzy on the details but she was certain that those two situations were memories from the night she had been drugged and her passion was suddenly doused with the memory of his laughter in that other parking garage. _Oh, God, would she never learn?_ Logically she knew she hadn't really been responsible for her actions the night she had been drugged but she was still humiliated by the rejection. It reminded her too strongly of that other garage not to sting and here she was doing the same thing. _How many times did he have to reject her advances before she got the message? _ Without a word or meeting his eyes, she pulled out of his arms and stumbled toward the car. Following her, Booth silently let them both into the vehicle, eying his stiff, silent partner warily.

Brennan was suddenly freezing and folded her arms over her chest for warmth. Her mind whirled, analyzing the evidence and she had to admit it wasn't pretty for her. Until Booth gave her something a hell of a lot better than _I wasn't laughing at you_, she couldn't help but still view that as a rejection. Oh, she didn't doubt that he'd had no intention of hurting her feelings but he had never once said he wasn't denying her words. She had been all over him the night she was drugged and he had pushed her away. Yes, she knew she should be grateful that he hadn't taken advantage of her in her moment of weakness but she wasn't, she was pissed and hurt that she, apparently, couldn't temp him even when she was literally crawling all over him. Oh, she knew that he was aroused but was now convinced that it was just a physiological response to the sexual advances of an attractive person of the opposite sex. He would probably be just as turned on if it had been Angela all over him. She ignored the way her heart clenched at the idea of another woman touching her partner like that and told herself to get a grip.

_What about the times he had come on to her this week?_ Her broken heart demanded. Occam's razor, her logical brain immediately supplied. All things being equal, the simplest explanation was usually correct. Booth had told her they were practicing so they wouldn't give themselves away in public and that seemed reasonable to her rational mind. _What about tonight?_ Her heart cried. _He didn't say anything about practicing_. No, that was true, but just because he hadn't specified he was practicing, didn't mean he wasn't. And that was after Sweets' instructions, perhaps he was just trying to put her in the mood to flirt with him at dinner. _Like she needed any help with that._ Stop it, she told herself firmly. He was only following Sweets instructions.

Booth looked over at his silent partner. He could tell she was thinking about something, hard, but decided to leave her alone. He could use the time to contemplate what he was going to say to her when they got back to the beach house. Within minutes, they were parked outside their temporary abode and he followed the stiff backed woman inside. She didn't even slow down but barreled toward the bedroom. Booth had no idea what was going on in that mind of hers but it was clear that she was no longer in an amorous mood. Regardless, they were going to talk. He had something important to say and she was going to listen. Quickening his pace, he caught her just outside the bedroom and spun her around, stunned when she jerked her arm out of his hand and backed away into the sitting room.

"We need to talk," he began softly but she immediately cut in.

"I'm tired, Booth. I'd like to just go to bed. We can talk in the morning." There was something akin to desperation in her voice but Booth knew this talk had been put off too damned long already. They were going to get it out into the open and talk about it tonight.

"Bones, I need to talk to you about what happened between us the night you were drugged. I should have told you the next morning and I don't have a good excuse but we are going to talk about it tonight." Frantically shaking her head, she tried to get past him and into the bedroom. He caught both arms in a steely grip, careful not to apply enough pressure to hurt her. "You don't remember some of the things that happened between us, how intimate we were and you need to know," his voice begged her to look at him but she didn't.

"I do remember, Booth," she insisted.

"I don't think you remember everything, Bones," he insisted.

"Yes, Booth, I remember every damned thing and I will not talk about it." She almost yelled and she looked at him now, her eyes filled with pain, determination and betrayal. He felt his gut clench in fear at the sight. Was she going to reject him? Whoa, buddy, before you go freaking out, you need to make sure she really remembers and you're both on the same page here. Calming Booth looked her straight in the eyes.

"Bones, you and I were very intimate that night. In fact, we…,"

"What about I will not talk about this don't you understand, Booth." She yelled and jerked out of his hold, stalking to the sliding glass doors and gazing out into the night, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Yes, I remember that we were intimate and I don't wish to discuss it," she reiterated in a more reasonable tone of voice. Actually, she didn't consider what they had done all that intimate and was tempted to hear why Booth did, but the fear of rejection, of being found wanting had hold of her now and she couldn't bear to relive the humiliation of him telling her how hard she had tried to seduce him and he had resisted, all for her own good, of course. Shuddering, she whispered, "I just want to forget it ever happened."

Booth had been moving toward her but those words stopped him in his tracks, something inside of him breaking to hear that the most intense sexual experience of his life was something she wanted to forget. If he had been thinking straight, he would have demanded that she tell him exactly what she remembered but he wasn't thinking straight. He was hot and horny and had just been rejected by the woman he wanted above all others. He had to get out of here. Luckily, it was almost time to meet his contact on the beach. Without another word, he stormed into the bedroom and used the patio access in there to leave the house. He never looked back. If he had, he would have seen Brennan cover her face with her hands as sobs shook her slender body.

Stalking down the beach, he tried to make sense of the last few days and the infuriating woman he had just left. He just didn't get it. He knew he turned her on and he had thought they were making progress, but only really since arriving in Bali. He stumbled to a stop. _Was that it? Was every smile she sent his way, every kiss she graced him with, every caress, was all of it simply her participating in the case? _ He hadn't thought so but now he wasn't so sure. The only thing he was sure of was that she had been able to reduce their lovemaking to something that wasn't worth remembering. Why? _Did the reason matter? _ She had just shattered his hope that they had a future and he knew he wouldn't be bringing it up again anytime soon. He was too afraid some of his hurt would spew out in ugly words that would irrevocably injure their friendship and partnership, which was apparently all she wanted them to be. Well, if that's what she wanted, then that's exactly what he would give her, a partnership and as much of a friendship as he could manage and still survive. No more late night take out, no movies, no cuddling on the couch, no more sleepovers and definitely no more touching and kissing. Piece of cake. _Oh, who the hell was he kidding? It was going to rip his heart out, but he would do it. For her._


	20. Chapter 20

**Hope you guys enjoy this one. Keep the reviews coming. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Brennan finished her last lecture to a standing ovation and had to admit to herself that she had actually enjoyed the symposium. She avoided looking toward the left end of the front row, knowing she would find Andrew Newman sitting there, staring at her with those creepy eyes. Booth approached and she tried to control her body's need, it's yearning for what was coming but she had found over the last several days that she couldn't control her own body. Temperence Brennan, the Queen of control and compartmentalization couldn't stop how her breath shortened and her body softened when she looked at him and she didn't even want to think about what happened to her body when he touched her. Trying and failing miserably to shore her defenses, she almost groaned as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her lingeringly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. It had become a ritual at the end of each lecture and God help her, she spent every second of every lecture over the last few days anticipating that moment when her body brushed against his and his lips touched hers. She had even sunk to pulling him into dark corners and fabricating Newman sightings to get her fix of long, slow kisses and having his hands all over her. _God, she was a Booth junkie and had no idea what she was going to do about it other than go through painful withdrawals when they left Bali._

She was also very upset about Newman. The man was a serial killer but stupid he was not. Brennan and Booth had watched him as closely as he watched them and he never left anything lying around that might give them DNA. When he finished eating and drinking, he immediately motioned a waiter over and had his silver wear and glass as well as any napkins he may have used taken away. They had a lot of circumstantial stuff and Booth and Brennan were both certain it was Newman but none of the live victims could even give a description and they just didn't have enough to compel DNA.

Brennan felt like she was letting Amy White down. She had promised the woman they would make the man who had hurt her pay and so far, they were falling short on that promise. It was eating away at her inside that they couldn't get a monster like that off the streets. _When they left, what was going to stop him from hurting someone else? _ Nothing. If they didn't stop him, it was a near certainty that he would hurt, or worse, someone else. Brennan and Booth had pored over every scrap of evidence they had again and again in the hopes that it would magically reveal something they hadn't already seen. They had tossed ideas back and forth until they were hoarse and exhausted and were no closer to taking a killer off the streets. They weren't used to failing and it was beginning to tell on both of them.

Booth gritted his teeth as he snapped at Brennan for the third time during breakfast. He was exhausted. Oh, he had been getting plenty of sleep. He was exhausted from trying to keep his lust for his partner in check. It wasn't her fault, he told himself. _Hell, yes it was her fault_, his inner voice objected, _she was the one who touched him all freaking day, pulling him into corners and ramming her tongue down his throat, leaving his so hard and aching by the end of the day that he could barely walk upright._ He was surprised he could carry on an intelligent conversation after the last few days as the blood supply to his brain had been minimal. He had even wondered if she got off on tormenting him but he dismissed that as beneath his partner, she just wouldn't do that. She sure as hell didn't act like someone who felt violated, he thought and was encouraged by that until he remembered this was the same woman who hadn't been upset that he had arrested her father for murder. Her compartmentalization skills were legendary. Despite his fears, he had decided that they were going to sit down and talk this thing out tonight. He knew she might be uncomfortable verbalizing her feelings but he was determined. They just couldn't go on like this.

Brennan sighed and sat back as Booth appeared to, once again, be lost in thought. He was grumpier than she had ever seen him and she was willing to attribute it to his being upset that they still had nothing concrete on Newman but it seemed to be aimed at her personally.

Frantically, she searched her memory for something she had done to annoy him but came up empty. Maybe he was so disgusted with her now that he didn't even like her anymore. She panicked at the thought. _Well, he seems to like you well enough when he has his hands all over you, _her inner Angela reasoned. That is just a natural biological response to an attractive person of the opposite sex. _Oh, really? Is that why he insisted you dance with him five times last night. The man practically molested you on the dance floor and you liked it. _ Well, yeah, she had liked it, she hadn't denied that she wanted him in her bed. But he had done that as part of their undercover work. _Oh, please, one dance I might buy maybe even two, but five? And who exactly was it that spotted Newman and insisted you make out in the car like horny teenagers last night? _Brennan's whole body clenched as she remembered how hot she had been and exactly where Booth's hands were when she had finally gathered enough strength to call a halt to things last night. He's rejected me twice now, Angela, she insisted, he's just doing his job. _Well, I got to hand it to him, that man certainly loves his work. _Before inner Angela could offer any words of wisdom, Booth finished his coffee and they were off for the day.

After finishing her morning lecture, they went back to Sam Cooper's apartment, unsurprised to find he was still MIA. They hounded Derek Komang until he threatened to arrest them if they didn't leave him in peace then they turned to Dr. Samuels in desperation. He had kept detailed records on every injury that he had ever treated at the resort. His office and records had been periodically searched with files disappearing, he told them. It was actually these occurrences which had made him watch things more closely than usual.

He had begun to keep backup files at his home which no one knew about and he happily supplied those to Booth and Brennan, even poring over the files with them and telling them anything he could recall about each incident, but they were getting nowhere except frustrated. The doctor was a healer and he though what was going on at this resort was an abomination. He had gone to the police over and over but nothing was ever done. He was actually surprised he still had a job, but he guessed whoever was responsible for the attacks didn't have to worry about him if they had the police doing their bidding. After several hours, Booth and Brennan left to get ready for dinner. The Rydell's and Vaughn's had insisted on a victory dinner tonight to celebrate how well the symposium had gone. Booth and Brennan both liked the two older couples and had accepted.

Standing in front of the mirror in their bedroom, Brennan checked her appearance and wondered what the hell she was doing. She shouldn't be going out to dinner where she got to play slap and tickle with her partner. She should be thinking of ways to stop Newman. She should be keeping her promise to Amy White not playing dress up. She should be figuring out what the hell she was going to do about Booth. She was terrified that when they got home, he would decide he didn't want a partner who kept throwing herself at him and he would leave her. She knew for a fact that she couldn't survive that. She would just have to suck it up and apologize to him tonight, before they went home and ask him to leave this mess here and not let it affect their life at home. She could only pray he would agree and yes, she knew how ironic it was for her to be praying to a God she didn't even believe in but Booth had a lot of faith and if there really was a God maybe that would make up for her disbelief and he would still be generous enough to grant her prayer.

Booth walked into the bedroom to see what was keeping Brennan and stopped in his tracks. _Oh, God, she was wearing the blue dress again_. His gut clenched and his breath caught in his throat. The one with no back. And no panties, his inner voice reminded him. _Yeah, thanks for the reminder_, he responded sarcastically, _like he needed someone to remind him of that_. How the hell was he supposed to keep his hands off of her when she looked like that? _You don't have to keep your hands off of her in public. In fact, touching is much encouraged,_ his insidiously evil inner voice threw in and he began to salivate at the thought of dancing with her again tonight and putting his hands on that beautiful body. He knew it was wrong to use the excuse of following Sweets' orders to get his Bones fix but he had grown used to it and didn't know how he would survive without it when they returned home. He even got a warm, fuzzy feeling when he thought of Sweets now, he really owed the kid for this one. If this was going to be their last night on the island, then he sure as hell was going to enjoy it.

"Are you ready?" he asked quietly and she jumped and spun around, her eyes huge and anguished in her pale face. "Hey, Bones, what is it?" Booth asked in concern, stepping closer and, for the first time in days, touching her inside the beach house, except when he held her at night but they didn't talk about that so it didn't count. Lifting her chin with a finger, he looked directly into her eyes. "Talk to me, Bones. Please, tell me what's wrong." She couldn't resist the caring look in his eyes.

"How can we just leave here tomorrow, Booth? How can we leave that monster loose to hurt other unsuspecting women? How many more women will wind up like Amy before he's stopped?" With a sigh, Booth pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her and there was nothing sexual in the embrace. They were giving and taking comfort from each other over their failure in this one particular case.

"I don't know what to tell you, Bones. You know that the surveillance team has been authorized to remain indefinitely. These guys are really good and I doubt Newman has spotted them. Maybe us leaving will be a good thing, case wise. Maybe if he isn't so focused on you, he will go after another woman and the team will nab him." Booth shuddered at the horror of what he had just suggested, but Brennan knew what he meant and her arms tightened around him.

"Are we okay, Booth?" she whispered, her voice childlike and begging for reassurance and just like that, they were definitely ok.

"Yeah, Bones, we're very ok." It was amazing to Booth that things could be practically falling apart between the two of them and one word, one gesture, even one glance could magically put things right. Thank God, this was one of those times. They would work whatever this was out between them but they would be staying together as partners and friends. Any other alternative was simply unthinkable for the both of them. "Are you ready to go now?" he asked softly, not really wanting to let her go. Giving him a final squeeze, she nodded and slowly stepped back as if she was as reluctant to leave his embrace as he was to release her. He had to smile at the color in her cheeks and the impish smile on her face.

"Are you going to dance with me tonight, Booth?" she asked with a sidelong look and fluttering lashes. _God help him, it looked like Angela would be accompanying them to dinner._

"You should be so lucky," he threw back teasingly. Angela disappeared and she was all Bones again.

"You're right, Booth," she said seriously, taking his hand in hers, "I am always lucky to have you." Booth was stunned by this statement and desperately wanted to demand that she clarify and expand but two things stopped him. He was reluctant to upset the precarious new balance they had achieved and they were going to be late if they didn't go now. And she hated being late. So, he simply did what his gut told him was the right thing.

"I'm lucky to have you, too, Bones," he said just as seriously, squeezing her hand. Instantly the impish smile returned and her eyes sparkled.

"Damned right, you're lucky to have me." _Ah, Angela was back with them_. He couldn't stop smiling as he hustled her out to the car.

Booth and Brennan had spent a very enjoyable evening with the Rydell's and the Vaughn's. They had found themselves more natural and relaxed with each other than they had been for several days. They had danced but had kept the touching to a minimum. They didn't realize it but they appeared even more intimately connected when they were like this than when their hands were all over each other. Brennan was laughing at something Bunny had said when a shadow fell across her. She turned up a smiling face only to find the creepy serial killer, or Andrew Newman if you prefer, standing over her. It took everything she had not to recoil in horror. Appearing remarkably unfazed by his appearance, Brennan merely lifted a brow. She had nothing to say to this man.

Booth moved to the edge of his chair and leaned toward her protectively, drawing a seething look of hatred from Newman who then turned his attention to Brennan. Objectively studying the man that nightmares were about objectively, Brennan had to admit that he wasn't hideously ugly but that didn't automatically make him attractive, either. He was just sort of average. Forgettable. Brennan was sure his wealth and social position made his physical appearance irrelevant to a lot of women, with a lot of people in general, allowing him to literally get away with murder, but not with her. She cared much more about what was on the inside than what was on the outside and this man was filled with pure evil.

"Dr. Brennan, I would like to congratulate you on the popularity and success of your lectures. You were a welcome addition to our other featured speakers and I hope we can expect you back next year." Brennan simply blinked at him, still with nothing to say. Angela had quite a lot to say starting with, _No freaking way will we be coming back any year that your creepy serial killer ass will be here. Now move on, bucko. We've had just about enough of you_. Newman acted like Brennan had just gushed at his praise, not at all put off by her silence. "It would appear that you have overcome the aversion to dancing that you had at our first dinner together. Would you do me the honor of dancing with me?" he flashed her what he probably thought was a charming smile. She didn't find it charming. It didn't escape her, or Booth's notice, that he had implied something romantic between himself and Brennan when he referred to the other dinner. Instinctively, Brennan's left hand reached back and stroked Booth's thigh to keep him in his chair.

"No," she said and rudely turned her back on him.

"Would you care to reconsider?" he asked through clenched teeth, just as his bony fingers closed around her right wrist, hard, intending to cause pain. Barbara and Bunny gasped in outrage at the abuse of their guest. Angela began shrieking and dancing around in her head. _Ooowww, yuck, he's touching us. Get him off. Get him off. _Brennan gladly obeyed her good friend. Before Booth could even rise from his seat, Brennan had Newman's wrist bent back at an angle that required him to sink to his knees on the floor or let the bones in his wrist snap.

"Don't ever touch me again," she hissed, actively debating on whether or not to just snap his wrist. He deserved a hell of a lot worse and this was one thing that was in her power to give Amy. She could make Amy's abuser suffer. Not nearly enough but at least it was something. Booth's hand on her shoulder stopped her just as she made up her mind. Since she, apparently, wouldn't get to break his bones, Brennan realized she did have a few things to say to this creep, after all, and he was a captive audience, so she could take her time. "I know what you are, Andrew Newman. I know that you like to hurt women and I will find a way to prove it. And even worse, I will let everyone else know exactly what you are." Brennan didn't bother to lower her voice, she wanted people, women, to know the name and connect it with danger.

The sight of a man sinking to his knees beside a beautiful woman garnered a lot of attention and at first there were oohs and aahs as people thought a proposal was in progress, but the look of pain on Andrew's face quickly disabused the other diners of that notion. When people began to understand Brennan's words, a hushed silence fell over the room and they began to look at Andrew in horror, much to Brennan's delight. Increasing the pressure on his wrist just for the hell of it, and to test her theory that most joints could withstand more pressure than they were given credit for, Brennan felt an evil Angela smile spread across her face as Newman humiliated himself by squealing like a pig and sinking to the floor, writhing around like a big baby. She wondered how much fun he thought it was to be the one suffering. Not much, she would be willing to bet. _Damn, she was right about the pressure thing,_ the scientist in her noted. _Not a single bone had snapped._ She made a mental note to document the incident and the approximate pressure applied when she got back to her computer. Both of Booth's hands squeezing her shoulders told her it was time to stop. _Hey, we're not done with him yet_, Angela protested. _Tell the big guy to back off, Bren, then kick this creep's ass,_ she encouraged. But Booth squeezed Brennan's shoulders harder, not hurting her by any means, but, nonetheless, telling it was time to stop. _Well, hell it looked like her fun was over; it was time to finish him off._

"If it's the last thing I ever do, I will prove that you are a rapist and murderer and I will put you away." Brennan vowed, flinging Newman's hand away as if it were something vile and she had contaminated herself by touching it. Whimpering and holding his abused wrist protectively to his chest, Newman got to his feet after several attempts. No one offered him assistance. Not even the staff.

"I will sue you for slander," he hissed, appearing to be exactly what he was, an insignificant little man who hurt women to feel good about himself. Brennan/Angela gave a goading smile at the threat then shrugged.

"Go ahead. I'm quite certain the lawsuit and reason for it would make the front page of every major publication in the nation," Newman was so furious that she wasn't cowed by him that he was practically vibrating with rage.

"I'll take every cent you will ever make," he reinforced his threat, finally managing to stand up straight and glower at her. Brennan wasn't impressed.

"Give it your best shot, creep," Angela answered this one then Brennan took over. "It's only slander if it's not true," she told him calmly. Newman snorted, some of his confidence returning.

"You have no proof. If you did, I wouldn't be standing here. Good try, Dr. Brennan but prepare yourself for a lawsuit that will bankrupt you." Newman smiled smugly. He was, apparently, not as bright as Brennan had given him credit for and didn't get the significance of the hand she held up when he said she had no proof, so she wiggled her fingers with her own triumphantly smug look. He looked at her hand for several seconds before he got it then looked down at his arm with horror, right at the four vivid scratch marks across the back of his hand.

"You know, Andrew, you really should spend the night with your loved ones. I have a feeling that you won't have the choice of how to spend your time very, very soon," she taunted as she stood, cradling her right hand against her chest to protect the precious DNA under her nails.

"Bones, could you not agitate the serial killer?" Booth asked quietly, standing when she did and rubbing his hands up and down her upper arms because she looked relaxed but she was stiff under his hands. She wanted to go after this guy badly and Booth couldn't blame her, so did he, but not like this. They had what they needed to put him away for the rest of his life. "We've got his DNA, Baby. Let it go." Booth deliberately used the endearment, thinking it would make her turn on him and tell him not to call her that, getting her attention off of Newman. He was stunned when she relaxed against him as soon as the word was out of his mouth, her tension just melting away. Rudely turning her back on the fuming Newman, Brennan looked at their hosts.

"I'm so sorry if this causes difficulties for the hotel," she told them collectively and meant every word. She liked these people and they didn't deserve to suffer financial annihilation because their choice of a business partner was poor.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that," Jack drawled, a Texan through and through. "We've got more money than we can ever spend. You just do what you have to do. And, honey, you make that bastard pay for hurting all them little girls," he almost spat in disgust at the end of the statement, his eyes focused on Newman. Brennan nodded her appreciation of his support and turned to Booth, dismissing Newman as if he didn't exist but Booth was keeping a wary eye on the man and something in the man's eyes when he looked at Brennan made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Giving Newman his best threatening glower, Booth used the hands on Brennan's shoulders to steer her toward the exit.

Within minutes, they were at the car and Brennan was elated. She had gotten to inflict a tiny amount of payback and it had felt good and she had gotten Newman's DNA without a warrant and she felt great about that. So great, in fact, that she almost danced out of the hotel. Booth couldn't help but grin at her elation. He felt pretty damn good about the situation, himself. Newman could cry foul all he liked but there were four very credible witnesses besides him and Brennan who could say that Newman had laid hands on her first. She had gotten the DNA fair and square protecting herself and there was nothing the son of a bitch could do about it.

Mere minutes later, they were at the beach house, Brennan still clutching her hand to her chest while Booth unlocked the door. Hurrying inside, Brennan grabbed the field kit she had confiscated from one of the crime scene techs that had been too awed by her name and too scared by her attitude to say no. Setting it on the table, she quickly gathered what she needed and sat, laying her forearm and hand on the table like it was fragile and precious. Since she was right handed, they decided she would talk Booth through the collection process, rather than take the chance that her limited dexterity with her left hand made her unsuccessful in collecting the samples. Booth collected three separate samples, one for the police here and two for the Jeffersonian, expertly labeling them and Brennan had to smile. He had apparently learned some things from her over the years. Just as she was about to tease him about it, his cell phone rang.

"Booth," he barked after checking the caller ID. Brennan watched his face closely but it remained impassive as he listened intently to the caller. "Are you sure?" More listening. "Yeah, I can't really say that surprises me." Another short pause. "That would be good. Yeah, I agree. Send Jackson down to the house." Booth hung up but before Brennan could ask any questions he dialed a number.

"Derek? Booth here. We've got Newman's DNA." Booth's eyes narrowed at the silence on the other side of the phone, the _that's great, man_ too long in coming to be convincing.

"Yeah, that is great. I need you to ground his plane and place him on the no fly list just in case he tries to run." Booth listened, his jaw so tight that his teeth had to be grinding together, anger glinting in his eyes. Brennan knew something was wrong and went to him, placing a soft hand on his forearm. He managed to smile down at her but she could tell he was pissed.

"Just do it, Derek. Yeah, you can send someone to pick up the sample in a couple of hours." Booth snapped the phone closed without saying goodbye and looked like he wanted to throw it against the wall.

"Booth, what is it?" Booth looked down at her and his expression softened. Without thinking, he drew her against him and just held her, absorbing her warmth and the innocence she still possessed even after so many years as his partner. Brennan wrapped her arms around him and just let him take what he needed.

"There's nothing I hate worse than a dirty cop," he sighed into her neck where his face was buried in her hair.

"Derek's a dirty cop?" she asked in confusion.

"Looks like it."

"But, Booth, if he's dirty, how can you trust him to stop Newman from leaving the island?" She was wiggling, trying to pull back to look into his face in growing agitation. He simply tightened his arms. He wasn't ready to let her go yet. "We can't give him the DNA sample!" she gasped in outrage that Booth would even consider turning her precious evidence over to a dirty cop. She stiffened even further in outrage when she felt Booth's whole body shaking against her. "Are you _laughing_ at me?" she demanded, her tone of voice sobering him immediately. Knowing cuddle time was over, Booth lifted his head and allowed her to pull back enough to glare up at him but she remained within the circle of his arms.

"No, Bones, I was not laughing at you," he assured her, his forehead resting against hers. "I was just releasing some tension. Now to answer your questions, Newman's plane has been boarded by the local authorities and he was placed on the no fly list two days ago. I just want to see if Derek will do what I asked him to. We will take the evidence to the lab ourselves in the morning. We will give whoever Derek sends a decoy. Ok, now?" She nodded. Booth's hands moved to gently cup her face and just as his head bent and her eyes drifted shut, there was an insistent knock on the door. Cursing roundly, Booth released a giggling Brennan with a long suffering sigh and went to the door, peering out the peephole then opening it to admit a man in his early thirties dressed in tourist's clothes of a t-shirt, shorts and sneakers.

"Bones, this is Agent Jackson," Booth introduced while shaking the man's outstretched hand. Brennan nodded in greeting. "Kyle this is Dr. Brennan," Booth's eyes narrowed as he saw the other man was gazing at Brennan with wide eyes, practically slack jawed. "Hey," he growled gaining the other man's attention, "watch it." There was a definite snap to Booth's tone and Jackson swallowed but his eyes stayed on Brennan.

"Um, yeah, sorry, Booth, but wow," Jackson returned unrepentantly. Seeing that scolding the other agent wasn't going to do any good, the man had an irrepressible sense of humor, Booth turned to Brennan.

And immediately saw the problem. He had completely forgotten she was wearing the blue dress. Hell, he guessed he should just be glad Kyle hadn't asked her out on sight, he couldn't really blame him for staring but he could do something about it. Stalking over to Brennan, he grabbed her arm and practically dragged her protesting form toward the bedroom. As soon as he saw the back of the dress, Kyle let out a long, low wolf whistle which earned him an Angela smile from Brennan and a glare from Booth that told him to just keep it up and see what happened. Slamming the bedroom door behind them, Booth released Brennan and leaned back against the door. Brennan spun to face him, hands on hips, a delicately arched brow her only response to the manhandling.

Booth couldn't believe what he had just done. If it had been anyone but Kyle who had witnessed that little episode of caveman behavior, it would be all over the Hoover building by morning but Kyle didn't gossip. Now he had to deal with Brennan. He gave her a charm smile but her expression didn't change. Fine, they would do this the hard way, which meant he would apologize and promise never to do it again. But he had a couple of things to try before he resorted to that. He gave her a sheepish smile.

"I thought you might like to get changed. Those shoes can't be comfortable." Her arms crossing over her chest and her brow arching even higher told him that one had been shot down. "I needed to let you know that I need to go out for a few minutes." _Ah, that one was going to work_, he thought in satisfaction as her look changed to one of curiosity and her arms dropped to her sides.

"Where are you going?" she demanded.

"I have to meet Steven at the usual place…," Brennan broke in before he could give her a full explanation.

"If it's ok for Agent Jackson to come here, why can't he?" she demanded, sitting down on the bed and slipping her shoes off.

"Because Steven will be staying on Bali to keep an eye on Newman and a couple of other people and we can't afford to reveal him as an agent. I have to meet with him to get some info he didn't want to give me over the phone. What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, unable to draw his eyes away from her hands flipping open the slit in her skirt to reveal a long expanse of leg.

"I'm getting changed, Booth," she explained patiently as she began to roll the thigh high stocking down that leg.

"Well, stop it," he demanded. He could see that wasn't going to happen as she folded the skirt back to fully reveal the bare leg and the one still clad in silk. He swallowed hard as her hand went to the top of the other stocking.

"Why, Booth? I thought that was why you were so anxious to get me in here." Booth's eyes narrowed. _Was she messing with him?_ He was shocked to note he wasn't sure. Before this trip, he would have been able to tell instantly, but he couldn't see her face as her head was bent to her task so he enjoyed the show until she stood up and walked to the closet, taking out the short, silky robe. With her back to him, she slipped her hands up around her neck to unhook the halter top of the dress.

"Stop it, Bones," he growled.

Unhooking the top, she held the dress in place and turned to blink huge blue eyes shining with innocence at him over her shoulder. _Oh, yeah, she was definitely messing with him and they were going to have a long talk about that when he could actually speak again._ Right now his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth as she winked at him and turned back to her task. Slipping on the robe, she peeled the halter top down her torso and simply shimmied her hips, the dress dropping into a pool at her feet. Booth didn't actually see anything but he already knew she wasn't wearing anything under the dress and he could easily picture in his mind what was under that very lucky robe. Instantly, his mind turned to mush and other parts of him got painfully hard. Overlapping the sides of the robe, she tied the belt at her waist and turned toward him.

"All done and you were right, Booth," she drawled, strolling right up to where he stood immobile against the bedroom door, "those shoes weren't at all comfortable," she whispered into his ear, voice and eyes filled with laughter. When he didn't answer, she shrugged, turned and sauntered toward the bathroom. "I'm going to take a bath, Booth. Enjoy your meeting." It was at least two minutes after the bathroom door closed before he sagged against the bedroom door, breathing hard and trying to get himself under control. Telling himself over and over he had an important meeting to attend and he couldn't follow her into the bathroom. This would have to wait. Justice for Amy White and all the others wouldn't.

Opening the door and ignoring the knowing look Kyle gave him, Booth turned a stern look on the younger agent. "She doesn't leave the house, Kyle. Not even to sit on the patio. Newman has nothing left to lose and I can see him being crazy enough to come after her. If anything happens to her, it won't matter that we're friends. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," replied Kyle cheerfully then more seriously, "I'll watch out for her, Booth. And because we are friends, I won't even hit on her," he told Booth with a grin. Booth's look told him what he thought of that. Grabbing one of the DNA samples, Booth left the beach house. The sooner he left, the sooner he could get back to his Bones.

Brennan relaxed into the tub, letting the spa bath salts do their job and melt away her tension. She felt a grin curl her lips as she remembered the stunned expression on Booth's face when she had left him in the bedroom. _Served him right for the caveman routine. _ Not really, she had actually liked the caveman routine, but, according to Angela, you had to train them like puppies, you couldn't let them get by with a single infraction and it was all for their own growth and development. Cam had agreed with that so Brennan had accepted their words of wisdom. She had no idea what she was going to do about Booth but she had to stop doing things like undressing in front of him. That couldn't possibly lead to anywhere good. Well, yeah, she imagined it could lead to somewhere fanfreakingtastic but thinking like that and the actions those thoughts had produced had almost broken things between them and she could live without sex much more easily than she could live without Booth in her life on a daily basis. Sex with Booth on a daily basis would just be a bonus but she wasn't holding her breath.

Finally feeling pretty damned relaxed, Brennan pulled herself out of the tub, making a mental note to drop by the spa and obtain some of the bath salts to take home with her. She brushed out her hair, applied lotion, brushed her teeth and put on a set of shortie pajamas as they were the least revealing of the nightwear Angela had provided, but that wasn't saying much. They still didn't leave much to the imagination so Brennan donned the thick white robe rather than the short silky one she preferred because she was certain Booth wouldn't like her wandering around in front of Kyle in next to nothing.

Leaving the bedroom, she soon found herself completely relaxed in the company of the very charming agent. Not charming in a sexual way. Oh, he was attractive enough, but he just exuded a warmth that drew you in and made you like him almost instantly. Soon, they were involved in a no holds barred game of gin for a penny a point. Brennan didn't want to bet money but Kyle refused to play without any real stakes. After ascertaining that he wasn't a degenerate gambler, Brennan agreed to the stakes. In the middle of their fourth hand, Kyle stiffened and placed a finger over his lips to indicate for her to silent. Getting up from the table, Kyle walked over to the sliding glass doors and looked out, seeing nothing but the hair on the back of his neck was standing up and he trusted that just like Booth trusted his gut. Quiclky, he checked all the other doors and windows. Everything was locked up tight and he didn't see anything but he didn't relax. Something just didn't feel right. Pulling out his cell phone, he hit speed dial then looked at his phone and put it back in his pocket. Sitting back down at the table, he placed a hand on top of Brennan's and looked her in the eye, every trace of playfulness gone. He was deadly serious.

"We've got company, Dr. Brennan. It's probably too much to hope they won't want to come inside. If they do I'll take care of them and you get out of this house and get to Booth as fast as you can. Take a left off the deck and he's about half a mile down the beach. You don't look back and you don't stop. Do you understand?" His voice brooked no disobedience and she nodded instantly.

Hearing a slight noise at the front door, he pulled her to her feet and toward the sliding glass doors, pulling his weapon and checking the deck and surrounding foliage for anyone lurking. Not seeing anyone, he eased the doors open silently and stepped outside just as two men dropped down from the roof onto the deck. And all hell broke loose.


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello, people. I must say that I quite enjoyed the reviews to that chapter. I'm not the self appointed Queen of the cliffies for nothing;) LOL. Now, if you want Musie to behave herself then push the button at the bottom of the page.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine but I play with them a lot.**

Kyle didn't hesitate to drop the man in front of him, the report of the gunshot sure to draw the attention of Booth and Steven. Kyle knew he would have backup fast, he just had to keep Dr. Brennan and himself alive long enough for them to get here. Spinning, he took down the second man and reached into the house, grabbing Brennan's arm, pulling her onto the deck and shoving her down the steps onto the sand just as the front door smashed against the wall and two men barreled through.

"Go!" Kyle yelled, making no attempt to join her as one man came around each side of the house. She was reluctant to leave him to these overwhelming odds and he could see that but she needed to get the hell out of here, he couldn't hold off this many men for long. Not long enough for Booth and Steven to get here, he knew. "Run! Now! Get to Booth!" he snapped and she turned, sprinting between the two men converging on her. Kyle helped her out by dropping the one who turned to follow her. Brennan didn't wait around to see what the others were going to do. She ducked low and ran as shots that she knew weren't from Kyle's gun rang out, hoping he would be ok, silently promising to bring back help.

"Booth!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she sprinted in the direction Kyle had told her to take. Pouring on as much speed as she could in the sand, she was taken completely by surprise when a heavy weight hit her in the back, knocking her down and a hand on the back of her head ground her face painfully into the sand. Unable to breathe, she struggled violently.

"Not quite so vocal now are you, Bitch?" inquired an insidiously evil voice in her ear. "I'll teach you how a real man treats a woman," Newman promised, laughing evilly and licking her neck. Brennan felt the bile rise in her throat, her horror at this man touching her giving her strength she hadn't known she had and she was able to turn her head just enough to breathe without him noticing. She would never know how she did it with the revulsion running through her body, but she slowly ceased her struggles as if she had passed out, lying quietly beneath him.

His hand left the back of her head and grasped the back of the robe to start pulling it down. Brennan could feel his creepy breath on her neck as his excitement rose. Gathering her strength, she slammed her head back as hard as she could, rejoicing at the crunching noise and the howl of pain it elicited. Rolling to the side and tipping his weight off of her back, she tried to gain her feet but he held fast to her robe, so she let him keep it, easily slipping free of it. Lurching to her feet, she started to run only to have her hair caught, painfully jerking her to a stop. Unable to move without the pain bringing tears to her eyes, she stood still, waiting for him to move closer. _Wanting him to move closer_. She wasn't some poor, defenseless woman who had been drugged until she couldn't fight back and she wasn't afraid of him. _So. Let. Him. Come_.

Newman felt the power swell inside him as Brennan stood still with his hand clutching her hair. She wasn't so different from all the others. Mete out a little pain and she became as docile as a lamb. And after the humiliation she had caused him tonight, he intended to mete out more pain than she could ever have imagined. He didn't think he would even use the drugs on her, he mused, moving closer and running his free hand up and down her arm. He wanted her to feel everything, to beg him to stop hurting her, then see the fear and horror in her eyes as he choked the life out of her. Oh, yes, she would pay for thwarting him and it would start now.

Suddenly releasing his hold on her hair, he spun her around and backhanded her across the face, knocking her to the sand. She was on her feet before he could get near enough to put his hands on her again and he was enraged to see her smile tauntingly at him. _How dare she not be cowed in his presence? She had seen what he could do. Well, she would learn before the night was over that he was to be feared._ Leaping forward, he was stunned to be met by a blow to his chest from the heel of her hand powerful enough to have him staggering back several steps and leave him temporarily unable to breathe.

Straitening from her almost kneeling stance, Brennan carefully watched her opponent, hoping he wouldn't give up and run away crying like most bullies. She wasn't anywhere near finished with him yet. Angela decided to help her out. "What's the matter, jerkwad? Don't know what to do with a woman when she's not drugged unconscious?" Thanks, Ange, Brennan smiled as Newman let out a howl of outrage and came barreling toward her. _You're welcome, Sweetie. Now kick his ass, Bren._ Brennan was happy to comply, ducking under his outstretched arms and quickly delivering a hard right followed by a left to the kidneys. She didn't want him out of commission quite yet and she knew that a man like him would never understand or care about the pain and devastation he had caused so many others but she could, at least, make him understand physical pain. And with her training as a forensic anthropologist, she knew exactly where and how hard to hit to cause maximum pain without incapacitating him. Her training in the martial arts gave her the skill and control to use that knowledge and she had never been so glad of either or felt so justified in their use.

Booth and Steven were instantly on their feet, sprinting toward the beach house before the report of the first gunshot died away. Since they were so close to the road, both men headed for the firmer surface knowing they would make better time on it than in the dragging sand. Steven dragged out his radio, trying to contact the agent watching the house but got no response. Booth's gut clenched in fear as he raced toward the sound of the many, many gunshots peppering the night. There was definitely more than one shooter. It didn't take long to reach the beach house but it seemed like a lifetime to Booth who's only thought was to get to Brennan and keep her safe.

Crouching low as they approached the front of the house, Booth and Steven used the foliage as cover to get as close as possible. The shooting had stopped and they both knew that wasn't a good sign. Booth could see that the front door stood open and indicated he would enter through the front while Steven should work his way around to the back of the house. Booth approached the open door at an angle and saw two men moving around inside. They appeared to be smashing everything in sight but that was good. It made it less likely they would hear him coming. He didn't see guns in their hands but, from all the bullets flying earlier, he had to assume they were armed and he would take them down without hesitation. Craning his neck, he scanned as much of the room as he could but couldn't catch a glimpse of Brennan or Kyle. This could mean they had gotten out and gotten to safety, he told himself but the knot of fear and dread in his gut didn't believe it.

Seeing Steven silently work his way onto the deck and glance in his direction, Booth nodded and stepped inside the room, his gun extended at shoulder level. "Freeze. FBI." He didn't hesitate to take out both men in the dining room as they turned toward him, raising guns as they turned. He heard running feet hit the deck and Steven shout out the standard warning followed by two almost simultaneous gunshots. Steven stepped back into view so Booth knew the bad guy was neutralized. Using hand signals to coordinate, Booth and Steven swept the living room, dining room and kitchen. Even though Booth knew this was the only safe way to secure the scene, he was almost beside himself to get to the bedroom, certain that if Kyle hadn't gotten Brennan out of the house entirely, he would find her safely ensconced in the bathroom. He didn't. The fact that Kyle wasn't there either was the only thing that kept him from full scale panic.

"Where would Kyle take her?" Booth demanded of Steven. "And why the hell hasn't he called in his position?" Steven was wondering the same thing. It wasn't like his people not to follow protocol. Pulling out his cell phone, Steven checked his signal then tried to dial out, flipping it closed and sticking it back in his pocket.

"Jammer," he told the pacing, agitated Booth. "It's probably on one of them," he pointed at the dead guy visible through the bedroom doorway. Not at all squeamish, Steven strode into the other room and began to methodically search the pockets of one of the fallen men. Booth followed and took the other one. Nothing. "There are two more on the deck," Steven told him, leading the way. Still nothing and Booth was starting to feel tendrils of panic take a tenacious hold. "There's one more on the sand, Booth. I'll take him." Booth nodded and started pacing, repeatedly running a hand over the nape of his neck. _Where the hell was she? Was she ok? Had Kyle been trying to call them and just hadn't been able to get through because of the jammer? Oh, please, God, let her be safe_.

"Got it," Booth heard as Steven held the device up triumphantly then switched it off. "Son of a bitch. Booth, call an ambulance. It's Kyle and he's been shot at least twice." Booth had his phone out instantly but was off the deck and at Steven's side almost as fast. Kyle was hidden in the shadows cast by the patio and probably wouldn't have been noticed for quite some time if they hadn't had to search for the jammer. It looked like the bullet he had taken to the shoulder had propelled him over the banister backward and he was lying, unconscious, face down in the sand. After helping Steven turn Kyle over, Booth ran back inside the house and grabbed towels to stop the bleeding. Finally getting an answer at Bali's equivalent of 911, he gave them the information they needed to send medical assistance, then called Dr. Samuels who promised to be there in less than 5 minutes. Having done everything he could for his fellow agent, Booth could no longer control his panic. _Where the hell was Brennan? Had she been taken? Was that monster hurting her right now because he had failed to protect her? Or had she gotten out? Was she hiding somewhere, scared and alone waiting for him to find her when he had no idea where to look?_

"Steven, who's on Newman?" Booth barked. Steven looked up from putting pressure on the wound in Kyle's left shoulder that was bleeding profusely. The other bullet had taken a pretty deep gouge out of his side but it had almost stopped bleeding on its own.

"Lipinski. Phone's in my shirt pocket," he told Booth who wasn't shy about jerking out the phone. "Speed dial #3," Steven supplied when Booth looked at him in question.

"Where's Newman?" Booth demanded without identifying himself but Lipinski knew his voice.

"Do you have eyes on him right now?" Booth asked after being told Newman was in his office at the resort. Booth's mouth tightened at the answer.

"I want you to go into that office right now and visually verify that he is in there." Booth's mouth tightened as he got attitude that he wasn't in the mood for.

"I don't give a damn if you did see him go in and he hasn't come back out, Lipinski. I've got six dead bad guys, one agent down and a missing partner so get off your ass and verify that Newman is in that office." Booth's voice was a low, deadly hiss by the time he finished speaking, brooking no argument. Steven didn't even chastise him for abusing one of his men. Everyone knew how the partners were and he could see that Booth was just about sick with worry over Dr. Brennan's safety.

"Get over here," he snapped into the phone, flipping it closed and cursing roundly, looking like he badly wanted to punch someone or something.

"Why did you pull Lipinski off of Newman?" Steven demanded.

"I didn't. Lipinski lost him. Newman's gone."

Brennan shook out her hand. That last punch had been a little harder than she had intended. She had felt at least one, maybe two ribs crack and she had probably bruised her knuckles. He had gotten in one lucky blow and she knew she would have a bruise on her ribs. But she had gotten in several very painful shots and gotten some good information, thanks to her inner Angela, while she was at it but she'd had just about enough of this creep. The answers to the questions she had put forth had sickened her to the level that she just wanted it to be over with. But she had to know one last thing before she took him out.

Newman grasped his left side and bent over, gasping for breath, absolutely infuriated that a woman would dare to lay hands on him. _He was the one in charge, the one with all the power and he would make this uppity bitch see that._ She would not get the best of him. _She had thought she had him by scratching him but the team he had sent to the beach house would take care of destroying that evidence and even if it did get to the police, he could take care of that with a phone call. He held the money so he held the power._ He had never faced any real consequences for his actions and he never would. As long as he had the money, he was untouchable and he had enough for several lifetimes.

He had taken one look at this woman and decided she would make a suitable long term companion and possible wife. After all, it was imperative to keep up appearances and to produce heirs to continue his illustrious family name and he had reached an age where it was appropriate for him to marry. Of course, after the PI report revealed that she was the daughter of common criminals, he had understood he could never marry her but, still, she would be a pretty bauble on his arm for as long as he chose. He was so certain she would comply with his wishes that he had booked them the secluded beach house but she had brought along that civil servant whom she couldn't seem to keep her hands off of. It was incomprehensible to him that she would choose someone else over him but that was all right. He always got what he wanted and he would have Temperence Brennan. She and that low class lover of hers had thwarted and tormented him with what he wanted at every opportunity but she had gone too far tonight threatening to spread scandalous gossip about him. He didn't care that every word was the truth; _the truth was what he said it was_. Women had made him angry before but this woman roused him to a level of rage he had never experienced before. She had rejected and humiliated him publicly and no one, especially a woman got by with that. _By God, she would pay. _

"Why did you pick Amy White?" Brennan asked conversationally, knowing better than to give away that this was important to her, to show him a weakness.

"Who?" panted Newman, genuinely confused and Brennan didn't think it was from the pain of the blows she had inflicted.

"The woman you killed the night I arrived in Bali. Why her?" Brennan managed to keep the rage out of her voice but just barely. She didn't even bother to try to mask the loathing she felt for this man and his actions. That just seemed to feed his rage and spur him on which suited her purposes perfectly.

"Her? She was just some nobody who caught my eye in the bar." With his words and uncaring shrug, showing that he had no remorse for what he had done, Brennan lost her cool and she went after him.

"Her name was Amy White, you bastard," a hard right to the solar plexus had him bending over, "she had a family that loved her, a family who will never recover from her loss." Jerking him up by his hair, she delivered a blow to his chin with the heel of her hand that had his head jerking back and him stumbling backward. "She was a doctor, someone who saved lives because she cared about other people, you son of a bitch." A sideways kick to the left knee brought him to his knees. Grabbing his hair, she jerked his head back. She wanted to see his face when she said this. "You don't deserve to live but I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to smile every day because you're behind bars being some guy named Bubba's bitch. I hope they pass you around like a party favor and then maybe, just maybe, you'll know 1/100th of what you put those women through. I wish you a long, long life, Andrew Newman." She took so much delight in the horror dawning on his face at her utter certainty that he was going to jail and what would happen to him there that she almost scared herself. But she didn't let it stop her. She needed to finish this for Amy and all the others. Bringing her knee up hard at the same time she slammed his head down, she knew he was out from the way he slumped on the sand. With a look of disgust, Brennan turned away from the man who had caused so much pain to so many. That stopped tonight.


	22. Chapter 22

**I'm glad everyone seemed to enjoy the last chapter. This one probably quite what you were expecting but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: They're not mine but I have sued HH for custody.**

"Where the hell is the guy you had watching the house from the outside, Steven?" Booth demanded. Dr. Samuels had arrived a couple of minutes earlier and was expertly ministering to a still unconscious Kyle and Steven was wiping his friend's blood off his hands.

"That's a damn good question, Booth. Grab the radio off my belt and see if you get an answer." Booth was quick to comply and Steven used the opportunity to wash his hands at the outdoor shower. Finishing quickly, he took the radio from Booth and tried to contact his agent with no better results.

"Dammit, I can't just stand here while she's out there somewhere. I'm going to check the beach," Booth felt a little calmer now that he had something productive to do. _She was fine and he would find her_. That thought running through his head was the only thing keeping him even remotely rational right now.

"Wait, Booth. Hold on just a minute." Steven insisted, stepping in front of his friend despite the warning look being sent his way.

"Get out of my way, Steven," the order was a deep, rumbling growl that told everyone to watch out this man was about to blow.

"Just hold on a second and I'll help you look," Steven insisted, seeing just how close to the edge his fellow agent was. Quickly radioing his remaining agent to check the position they had been using to watch the house, Steven nodded at Booth to let him know he was ready. As they stepped into the sand with Booth turning instinctively in the direction he had always gone to meet Steven and pointing Steven in the other direction just in case, a blood curdling female scream rent the air.

"Bones," gasped Booth, sprinting toward the scream with Steven on his heels just as the sound suddenly ceased and an ominous silence descended on the beach.

Brennan turned to look toward the beach house, not realizing she had gotten this far from it. She hadn't seen Booth come along the beach therefore logic suggested he had taken an alternate route. Since she could see flashing lights coming from that direction, she had to assume that she and Newman had been at it long enough to let Booth reach the beach house. She knew he would have been here by now if Kyle had been able to tell him where she had gone which meant that Kyle was either dead or incapacitated. Brennan winced at the thought of either. She hoped he would be ok, he was a nice guy and whatever had happened to him was because he was trying to protect her.

She knew Booth would be worried about her so she tried to decide the best course of action. She had to let her partner know she was safe but she wasn't about to leave Newman and take the chance he wouldn't be there when she led Booth back to this spot. She didn't have her cell phone or any other form of communication device with her and there was no way she could drag the dead weight of the unconscious man. Not that she would be able to tolerate touching him long enough to even try, she acknowledged with a shudder of disgust at the thought. She couldn't even tolerate the thought of touching him long enough to check him for a cell phone. _Okey dokey, then, low tech it is_, suggested Angela. Brennan was finding her inner Angela so helpful that she was seriously considering keeping her around permanently. With a grin at the thought, Brennan turned toward the beach house and cupped her hands around her mouth. A muscular forearm slid around her throat and cut off her air supply before a sound could emerge.

"Hello, Dr. Brennan," a husky voice whispered against her ear as she was jerked back against a muscular chest, the arm around her throat loosening enough to allow her to breathe but not enough to let her scream. _What the hell? Just how many freaking psychos are running around this place? _demanded Angela angrily. Brennan was beginning to wonder the same thing but she thought it might be polite to answer the psycho she was now dealing with.

"Hello, Derek," she replied warily. Hearing rustling behind them, Brennan instinctively tried to turn her head, pissed that Newman might be getting away but the arm, once again, slowly closing off her air supply reminded her that she had bigger problems right now. His other arm slid around her waist and his hand spread across her abdomen in a move reminiscent of the one Booth had used to tell him to back off the morning they met. "What do you want, Derek?" Brennan gasped as his arm loosened slightly and she was no longer seeing stars. She saw no need to prevaricate, the faster she found out what he wanted the faster she could get his slimy, wandering hands off of her.

"Oh, you know, Sweetheart, I want what all men want. Money, power, prestige, time alone with a beautiful woman and you are a very beautiful woman, Temperence Brennan. It really is a shame that Booth left you alone tonight but it's his loss," Derek seemed to think he was quite the comedian as his chest rumbled with laughter at her back. The hand on her abdomen began to inch upward and Brennan began to struggle. She just didn't have it in her to stand still and let him touch her. She might not be able to take him but she sure as hell was going to give it her best shot. She refused to be this man's victim any more than she had been Newman's victim.

"You should just let me go now, Derek," she told him, gritting her teeth but she was forced to stop struggling as his arm tightened and spots danced before her eyes. And his hand continued to wander. Brennan felt her skin crawl as it moved down over her hip and cupped her butt and she felt tears of impotent fury sting her eyes.

"Oh, yeah, Sweatheart? And why is that, when you and I can have so much fun together?" His wandering hand came up to stroke her cheek as he held her immobile with the arm around her neck. She didn't hesitate to give him the truth.

"Because that's your only chance of living. If you hurt me, Booth will kill you, Derek." Derek laughed and nuzzled her cheek but whoever his companion was took the sincerity in her voice at face value.

"Come on, Derek. The pervert is loaded up. Now, let's get the hell out of here," hissed a nervous voice from behind them. Derek's attention shifted and Brennan took full advantage.

She knew she was as good as dead if they got her off of this beach and she wasn't going easily. Kicking backward as hard as possible, she caught Derek in the side of the knee, throwing him off balance. Blindly grabbing his thumb and bending it backward until it popped out of place, she used her other hand to push up on his elbow while bending her knees and easily slipping out of his loosened chokehold. She used a hard elbow to the face to stay free long enough to do the only thing she could. Taking a quick breath, she screamed as loudly as she could. Sound carried easily on the still night air and she had not a single doubt that Booth would hear her call of distress and he _would_ come for her. She tried to run but was tackled before she took three steps. Falling face down on the sand, she quickly rolled to her back and tried to use her legs to keep the now furious detective at bay, but he was too strong and straddled her abdomen, backhanding her on the same side of her face that Newman hit and, damn, this time it really hurt. She tried to use her hands as weapons but she soon felt his hands around her throat, squeezing tightly and all she could do was gasp for air.

"You bitch, you broke my finger," he yelled, into her face as her nails clawed at his hands, desperately trying to loosen them from around her throat enough to draw a breath. He smiled evilly directly into her eyes as he applied even more pressure and she began to black out. Then she was gasping and coughing but she was breathing and Derek was dragging her to her feet, his arm again encircling her throat in a chokehold and she knew she wouldn't be breaking this one. He dragged her along with him as he backed toward the road and she was so groggy from being choked that it took her a few seconds to see why. _Her hero had arrived and he was so going to kick Derek's ass. _

"Let her go, Derek," Booth ordered his right arm fully extended and the gun in his hand pointing directly at the now stationary Derek. He moved slowly toward them, his eyes running over Brennan in the darkness, trying to gauge if and how badly she was hurt. When their eyes met, she tried to reassure him that she was ok and he seemed to relax a little so she thought he had gotten the message. Derek didn't release her but she felt cold steel against her temple as he pressed the barrel of his gun to her head.

"Drop it, Booth, or I'll kill her," Derek threatened.

"I can't do that, Derek, and we both know it," Booth returned, keeping his voice low and calm. "Are you all right, Bones?" Booth asked his partner desperately needing to hear her voice.

"I'm fine," Brennan was shocked to hear her voice come out in a pained whisper and Derek chuckled at Booth's wince of sympathy.

"She's fine and she'll stay that way as long as you put down that gun down and let me walk away," Derek told Booth confidently. Brennan and Booth both knew that neither of them would be fine if Booth put down his gun and Derek wasn't going to just shoot her because that would mean his instant death and he knew it. Booth just needed to keep him talking until they could distract him. Steven was currently working his way behind the dirty cop but they couldn't take him out as long as he held a gun to Brennan's head, his finger could tighten on the trigger in reflex even with a perfectly placed shot.

"Why are you doing this, Derek?" Booth asked, not that he cared but it was a way to keep the other man talking.

"Money, man, why else? And there are fringe benefits," he laughed, leaning down to nuzzle Brennan's ear, enjoying her attempt to move away and the growl of fury Booth was unable to mask. Brennan shuddered in revulsion and she had never wanted anything as badly as she wanted this man to be far, far away from her.

"You were using the drugs on women, too, weren't you?" She gasped in horror. Derek stiffened but he didn't see that he had anything left to lose at this point.

"Very good, Sweetheart." The evil man smiled directly into Booth's eyes as he used the endearment, enjoying the other man's powerlessness to stop him. "I had heard you were as smart as you were beautiful, but I found that hard to believe. Now, Booth," Derek seemed to have tired of taunting Booth and redirected his attention toward escape, "the pretty lady and I are going to walk away and if you don't give me any trouble, I'll let her go when I get to safety." Brennan almost snorted. She and Booth both knew Derek wouldn't let her go and they both knew he wouldn't be walking away from here. Brennan saw Booth's eyes narrow and knew what was coming and maybe, just maybe, she could help him out.

"I'm going to be sick," she moaned, one of her hands flying up to cover her mouth as she made gagging noises in her throat. Derek instinctively loosened his arm from around her neck and she dropped to the ground covering her head just as two shots rang out and she felt the thump of a body hit the sand beside her. Unable to control her reaction, she scrambled away, thinking she really would be sick if he touched her again. Within seconds, Booth was beside her on the sand, pulling her into his arms and squeezing her so tightly that she winced as he put pressure on her bruised ribs, but she didn't tell him to stop. She was squeezing him just as tightly. "Booth," she suddenly remembered, "Derek had an accomplice with him. The other man put Newman in a car. We have to stop him," she was trying to wiggle out of his arms now, determined that Newman wasn't going anywhere but Booth refused to let her go. He was still shaking and felt like it would be a long damned time before he stopped.

"Just hold still a minute, Bones. Are you ok?" Booth wanted to look her over to assure himself that she was but he couldn't make his arms loosen long enough.

"It's all right, Dr. Brennan. I have them both handcuffed in Komang's car," said a soothing voice over Booth's shoulder and Brennan looked up to meet warm, trustworthy green eyes. Nodding, she laid her head back against Booth's shoulder and relaxed into his body where he had pulled her into his lap.

"Just give us a couple of minutes, Steven." Booth requested.

"Take your time, Booth. I'll get a car down here to take you guys over to the hotel for the night. Do you need an ambulance, Dr. Brennan?"

"No," Brennan croaked and Booth looked down into her face.

"Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?" he asked solicitously. She shook her head and Booth knew that meant no hospital.

"Have Dr. Samuels meet us at the hotel as soon as Kyle's on his way to the hospital," Booth barked at Steven and Brennan knew it would be pointless to argue so she saved her breath and fading voice.

"How's Kyle?"

"He took one in the shoulder and one in the side but Samuels thinks he's going to be fine. He'll be moved stateside tomorrow if he's stable," Booth assured her. "Now don't try to talk anymore," he urged gently pushing her head back down on his shoulder and laying his cheek on top of her head and that's how they sat until the car arrived to take them to the hotel 15 minutes later.

Booth stood on the balcony of the presidential suite that the Rydell's and Vaughn's had insisted that he and Brennan take upon their arrival at the hotel a couple of hours ago. The two couples had met them in the suite apologizing profusely for the horrible things that had happened to Brennan because they had asked her here. Booth had tried to assure them that Newman had manipulated them into doing exactly that and that none of this was their fault. By the anger on the men's faces, Booth thought they understood this but the women just kept apologizing. They took charge of Brennan who looked bewildered by all the attention but she didn't object so Booth bit back his objections when they led her into the bedroom and out of his sight to be examined by Dr. Samuels.

Dr. Samuels had spent quite some time with Brennan then pulled Booth aside to tell him that her throat would be very sore for several days but she was physically fine. Samuels was a little concerned that she kept insisting that she was fine, that she had suffered nothing but minor physical injuries at the hands of Newman and Derek. Booth was concerned as well, he knew Brennan, probably better than she knew herself, and with as strongly as she had identified with Amy White, as wrong as everything about this case was to a woman, he was afraid she was going to discover her breaking point soon. Samuels told Booth he'd had to bully her into a mild sedative and an injection for pain but he was leaving her some pain pills and something else to help her sleep if she needed it.

Booth asked him to hurry their company along and Samuels was glad to help him out. He felt absolutely horrible that Derek Komang, the person he had assured them they could trust had almost killed Dr. Brennan and assured Booth that he would be available throughout the night if he was needed. Once they were alone, Brennan had mumbled that she was going to take a shower and Booth had nodded, wincing at the rawness of her voice. Bunny and Barbara had raided the boutique downstairs and provided Brennan with a new wardrobe to last for at least a couple of weeks even though they would be able to get their things from the beach house tomorrow. They had even thoughtfully provided attire for Booth for several days.

Booth had heard the shower start and wandered onto the balcony, gazing sightlessly at the ocean. His partner had almost died tonight and he was still shaking inside because of that. Hell, it wasn't the first time one of them had almost died. But it was the first time his gut had told him to be careful and he had ignored it. Hell, he had known Newman would be out for blood after that little confrontation in the restaurant. He couldn't have known he would send in an armed team like he had done but Booth hadn't even warned Brennan that he thought the other man might try something when he left her with Kyle. And why? Because she had him so tied up in knots that all he could think about was getting his meeting with Steven over with as soon as possible and getting back to her so they could have their little talk and he could take her to bed.

He had put his physical desire for her above her safety and that was unacceptable. He had known his head wasn't in the game for days now, that he was so distracted by their attraction to each other that he wasn't as focused on the case as he should be, but he hadn't done a damned thing about it and it had nearly gotten his partner killed. Yeah, she was alive, but she was physically hurt and that son of a bitch had put his hands on her when she was powerless to stop him. With the case they were working, he doubted even Brennan could compartmentalize that and it was his fault. If he had just been paying more attention, he could have insisted that Steven come to the house for the meeting then Derek would never have touched her, he told himself, conveniently forgetting the reasons he had given Brennan for the meeting not taking place at the beach house.

For Christs sake, it was a miracle she even made it away from the house with the way bullets had been flying. She could have been killed in the crossfire and he would have been up the beach chatting with a friend. And when she had tried to run to him for protection he had let her down again. She'd had to face Newman on her own. Booth couldn't hold back a grin at this. He and Steven had been in almost constant contact by phone and, apparently, Brennan had kicked Newman's ass royally, Steven gleefully reported from the jail. He was making Lipinski spend the night outside the creep's cell as penance for losing him in the first place but Steven assured Booth the man could barely crawl after the number Brennan had done on him and certainly wouldn't be running anywhere anytime soon. Despite her victory against the serial killer, she should never have faced him alone. Booth shuddered at the thought of what the man would have done to her if he had gotten the upper hand. Even if he hadn't killed her, he would have destroyed some part of who she was and it would have been Booth's fault.

Booth laid Derek getting within a mile of her firmly on his doorstep as well. He should have told Steven to put one of his team on Derek but had been too preoccupied by watching Brennan undress to think about little things about the case and her well being. He had been scared when they didn't find her at the beach house but he had never been as terrified as when he saw Derek press that gun to her temple knowing one small twitch of the detective's finger would end his world, send him into a world of blackness, an existence so dismally bleak and colorless that it wouldn't be worth living. He had been lucky this time. But he couldn't count on that happening again. He had to stay on his toes, keep his vigilance high and the bottom line was that he couldn't do that while he was distracted. And the only way to make sure he wasn't distracted was to make this thing he had been so eager to explore between them go away, to go back to just partners and friends. Making that decision broke his heart but he told himself stubbornly that was the only way he could make sure she was safe and that was more important than anything else. He wasn't happy with the decision. Hell, he wasn't sure he'd ever be happy again but he felt better that he had a plan of action and suddenly noticed how long Brennan had been in the shower. Thinking maybe she had gone to bed while he was lost in thought, he went in search of his partner.

Brennan stood under the almost unbearably hot sting of the shower. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she couldn't stop them. She had been able to keep them at bay while Barbara and Bunny had fussed over her, reminiscent of how she could remember her mother acting when she had been injured as a child. Although she was surprised that they seemed to care so deeply over the comfort of a virtual stranger, it had brought a sense of poignant sentimentality to the situation and she hadn't objected. In truth, she appreciated their efforts but she just wanted Booth. She wanted him to wrap his arms around her where she felt safe and cared about and where she knew she would always have a home but he had been acting oddly ever since he had found her on the beach. She knew how he hated to take another life and her heart ached for him but if he hadn't shot Derek, she would be dead so it was a little hard to be overly regretful for the act. He had held her in his arms so tightly that she could barely breathe and she had let him because that contact was exactly what she needed too.

But once Dr. Samuels ushered the Rydell's and Vaughn's out, leaving them alone in the suite, Booth wouldn't even look her in the eye. Maybe she was just being too sensitive but that avoidance made her want to cry and as soon as she stripped off her torn, stained clothing, and stepped into the shower, that's exactly what she had done. At first she was puzzled by the tears streaming down her cheeks. _Why was she crying? _They had won tonight; they had beaten a serial killer and a dirty cop. She should be glad and she was but the sadness she felt by far outweighed her sense of accomplishment and she was bewildered by that. Until she closed her eyes and raised her face to the shower and instantly she felt Derek's breath on her neck and the side of her face, his hands roaming her body without her consent and she thought she was going to be sick. Her eyes popped open and she looked around almost gasping for breath, heartbeat racing. She could clearly see she was alone but she could still feel him touching her, could feel the helplessness and rage those touches had engendered and how much he had enjoyed her helplessness and she understood why she was crying.

Admittedly, some of the tears were for her, tears of rage and helplessness, tears of hatred for both of the men who had tried to harm her tonight and even tears of self pity that even though she hadn't done anything wrong, Derek had made her feel unclean. But most of the tears weren't for her. They were for Amy White and every single woman that Newman and Derek had hurt. Logically, Brennan knew she had gotten only a small taste of what those evil men had done to the other women but that taste was enough for her heart to break for each and every one of them. She cried for their pain and helplessness and rage, their inability to fight back. She cried for the families of the one's whose lives had been so senselessly taken. She cried at the abject horror of these women being drugged and violated, being stripped of the right to choose who they shared their body with.

And if that wasn't bad enough, the sadistic son of a bitch who manufactured the drug with a built in window so they were lucid and knew exactly what was being done to them, so they could actively feel the abuse Newman meted out. _Did Amy know she was going to die? Did the rest of them? Were they afraid or were they in so much pain by then that death was a relief? And what about the women who had survived? How could they ever feel safe again? How could they ever trust anyone again? How did they face each day with memories like that which would remain as a stain on their very souls for the rest of their lives?_

Booth walked across the sitting area and quietly entered the bedroom in case Brennan was sleeping but the bed was empty. He frowned when he heard the shower. She had been in there a really long time. Concerned, Booth walked over and knocked on the door. "Bones, are you ok?" He couldn't hear an answer and almost panicked until he remembered the injury to her throat and knew he wouldn't be able to hear her through the door even if she had answered. He didn't want to invade her privacy but he needed to know she was ok. Opening the door slightly, he asked again, "Bones, are you ok?" He didn't hear a verbal response but he did hear the most heartbreaking sobs he'd ever heard. Instantly pushing the door open, he advanced into the bathroom and the sobs got louder. "Bones, you've been in there a long time. Why don't you come out now?" he urged gently.

"I can't," she sobbed and the pain and bewilderment in her voice almost broke him.

"Why can't you?"

"I can still feel his hands on me." The helplessness in her voice made him want to shoot Derek Komang over and over but that wouldn't help things. _The hell with invasion of privacy,_ Booth thought, swinging open the door of the shower and stepping inside, ignoring the fact that he was still partially dressed.

"Oh, Baby," he whispered, his heart breaking for her as he saw the way she was using the loofah in her hand to scrub her neck over and over again in the spot Booth had seen Derek nuzzle it. Booth knew her neck must be painful to the touch. It was swollen and the redness had started turning to bruising but she had almost rubbed the skin off in that one spot. With a quick glance, he saw several more areas that she had mistreated in the same way and could only surmise that the other man had touched her in those spots before he got there. His gut clenched and the sight of that silky, soft skin so abused solidified his earlier decision that keeping her safe was more important than anything. He had failed her tonight and look what had happened. "Stop it, Bones," he said softly, grabbing her hand and halting the scrubbing motion but she jerked her hand away with a sob and moved on to her abdomen, scrubbing the skin so hard that Booth winced in sympathy. Not seeing any alternative, Booth grabbed the loofah from her hands and tossed it aside. She leaned over, snatched it back up and resumed her scrubbing. "You have to stop it, Bones. You're hurting yourself," Booth tried reason as he grabbed the loofah and tossed it over the top of the shower doors.

"I can't stop until I can't feel his hands on me anymore," she turned on him, still sobbing and she would have been screaming if her voice wasn't hoarse. _Oh, God, she was killing him, she was suffering and it was his fault._ Booth did the only thing he knew to do. He pulled her to him and wrapped her tightly in his arms, dropping what he hoped were soothing kisses on her head.

"I'm so sorry, Baby. I'm so sorry," he murmured over and over again. Very slowly the sobs stopped but she was still crying. She raised tear drenched, blue pools of pain to him.

"Make it stop, Booth," she pleaded. "Make his hands go away." Her hand slipped up his chest and behind his head to pull it down to hers. "Please, Booth, make me forget his hands on me," she whispered against his mouth, her lips pushing his apart and her tongue seeking entrance. Booth would have taken all the pain she was feeling right now onto himself without a second thought but he didn't think was the way to relieve it. He didn't even know if there was a way to relieve it without long term counseling. He pulled back from the kiss.

"This isn't the way, Bones," he told her softly, his hand tenderly cupping her cheek. But she didn't listen. Her lips moved to his neck and she had his shirt unbuttoned by the time he grabbed her hands. "No," he said simply.

"Please, Booth," she begged her hands grasping the parted sides of his shirt, her eyes locked with hers. She desperately needed something from him and he had no idea what so he went with his gut. Bending, he tenderly kissed the abused skin of her neck and moved on as her tears slowed and some of the tension left her taunt body. There was nothing sexual in his touch. He touched her reverently, his mouth and touch telling her she was special, that she was loved. Kneeling in front of her, he kissed her abdomen and gently turned her with his hands, his lips following the path of the loofah reddened skin, until every inch of skin that horrible man had touched had been brushed by the healing comfort of his lips. Standing and pulling her against his chest, he kissed her with such tenderness that she shuddered and relaxed against him. Picking her up, he carried her out of the shower and sat her on the chair in front of the lighted vanity. She sat there like a child waiting for direction, looking at him with her eyes alight with trust that he would take care of her and her would. He would never let her down again, he silently promised her as he tenderly dried her off and dressed her in one of the gown Barbara and Bunny had provided. Brennan sat on the chair, blinking at him as he stripped off his own wet clothes and quickly toweled himself dry, her eyes never leaving his face. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he picked her up and carried her to bed. She lifted her head from his shoulder blinked at him sleepily and Booth knew the sedative Dr. Samuels had given her was kicking in.

"Thank you," she whispered. Before he could respond, her eyes closed and she relaxed against him. Stripping back the covers, he gently laid her down and pulled her arms from around his neck. For just a second, she resisted and her eyes opened, looking straight into his, "I love you, Booth," and she was out for the count.

Booth remained bent over, frozen in place by her words. _Had Bones just told him she loved him with no chicken shit qualifiers like in an atta boy kind of way? No freaking way. She was drugged and hadn't known what she was saying. Right? Could it be true that she loved him? Really, truly in the way that he loved her loved him?_ Regaining his wits, he straightened and hunted through the clothing that had been provided for him until he found some boxers and slipped into a pair, tossing the towel back into the bathroom. Sliding into bed, he was pleased to see that Brennan moved toward him even in her sleep. Pulling her into his arms, he let his mind wander. _What were the chances that she would tell him she loved him just when he had decided that it was too dangerous for them to be anything other than partners and friends?_ Maybe God did have a sense of humor after all but it was twisted as all get out because it was just unimaginably cruel, to dangle the thing he most wanted in the world in front of him just when he had decided he couldn't have it. Whether she had meant it or not, this bore some thinking about. Those four words could change everything.


	23. Chapter 23

**Sorry about the delay. I find that real life is really inconvenient sometimes, but I hope this one buys me some points. I can promise next few will be….interesting. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

They left Bali four days later. One of those days had been spent mostly with the police, clearing Booth of fault in the death of Derek Komang and tying up loose ends on the case. The bruises on Brennan's neck went a long way toward clearing Booth. Brennan's, Booth's and Steven's testimony also helped but the clincher was that when Derek's home was searched, the search team found all the physical evidence from every one of the attacks that had been reported from the resort, evidence that had been conspicuously absent from the evidence room when Booth and Brennan had searched it just days earlier. To Brennan's horror, they also found evidence from five unsolved murders on different parts of the island predating the attacks at the resort but bearing a remarkable similarity to them. The authorities could only assume that these other five murders had some type of connection to Newman and had asked Brennan for her assistance in examining the exhumed remains so they could determine how many murders to charge Newman with.

She had walked into the crypts set aside for her use at the Medical Examiner's office and felt herself completely relax for the first time since armed men had broken into the beach house. The ME's office had been working around the clock to open the exhumed bodies and get them ready for her examination and had done a surprisingly good job. She was given two assistants. They weren't her grad students or Zach but they were competent and she was able to immerse herself in something that came as naturally to her as breathing, something that allowed her to focus all the bewilderment and anger she had been feeling into work and that was like a balm to her tattered emotions. Finally, she could breathe freely and she could think. She had been doing this so long that it required only a portion of her attention to accurately assess the remains. She did give the women the courtesy of focusing her full attention on them until she was sure of her findings then she couldn't seem to help her wandering thoughts as she filled out the paperwork.

And those thoughts kept circling back to one thing or rather one person. Booth. She was appalled that she had lost control of her emotions and, once again, practically accosted her partner. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about the way he had handled her behavior. She knew that he had made her feel cherished and she would never forget those moments in the shower. She also knew he was too much of a gentleman to mention her behavior and embarrass her and she was actually fine with that. She was having a much harder time ascertaining why he had chosen to ignore that _I love you_ she hadn't been able to hold back. _Did he think she hadn't meant it? Did he think she had and he didn't want her to? _She didn't feel rejected this time so much as confused. _Did they move forward or did they stay the same? _ She just didn't know and she did what she always did when she was out of her depth. She worked almost around the clock for two days until she was so exhausted Booth hauled her back to the resort and they fell into bed for a few hours sleep. Returning back to the morgue later that morning, she gave the authorities what facts she had been able to deduce.

From the evidence, Brennan was only able to be sure that Newman had committed three of the five murders but viable DNA was found in the evidence in Derek's home from the other two crimes and proved conclusively that Derek Komang had attacked and most likely murdered the two women, most probably using Newman's signature to throw off the authorities if he was ever suspected. The police had asked for any victims to come forward and had been overwhelmed with the response but since there was no longer any DNA or any other real evidence, they had no reliable method to determine just how many women that Newman and Derek had hurt over their sick two year partnership. A partnership, ironically, that was forged when Derek was assigned the oldest of the murders. He had easily traced Newman but instead of arresting the man and preventing the pain and heartbreak of countless people, Derek had jumped at the money and access to drugs that Newman had offered him. Brennan found the whole situation unspeakably vile and just wanted to go home but these victims deserved justice and she refused to run away just because it caused her pain to be here so she locked away her anger and disgust and made sure her evidence couldn't be successfully challenged by Newman's attorney.

She and Booth had returned to the hotel, exhausted after she finished the last examination and Brennan wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep even though it was the middle of the day. But no sooner had the door of their suite closed behind Booth than there was an insistent knock. Brennan decided to let Booth deal with it and headed toward the shower but was brought up short by the sound of Barbara's voice. Slowly walking back to the door, Brennan saw the older woman had a well dressed man in tow and lifted an eyebrow at Booth. Booth shrugged but he had immediately pegged the guy as a lawyer. He was right.

The man introduced himself as Mr. Dalton and explained he was the personal counsel of the Newman's. Brennan had gone rigid and looked at the man as if he was contaminated by evil by sheer proximity to that family. Mr. Dalton had immediately let them know that Mr. and Mrs. Newman were horrified at their son's actions and that they would not be supplying legal representation for him. They would, however, like to set up a fund to make sure that every woman who had been harmed by his actions would have access to medical care and ongoing psychological counseling. They were at a loss as to how to try to make reparations to the families of the victims who had lost their lives and they wanted Brennan to know she had their personal apologies for anything Andrew had put her through.

Brennan had been so saddened by the utter disregard for human life exhibited by Derek and Newman and so sickened that they could shatter so many innocent lives for their own perverted pleasure that she had forgotten that their families were also victims in all of this and that shamed her. She, of all people, should know that you couldn't be held responsible for your family's actions. Brennan had unbent enough to suggest the Newman's provide financial support for the victims' minor children and Booth had never been more proud of her. This case had been hell on her and she brushed that aside to help the people she saw as the true victims. Mr. Dalton left shortly thereafter and Booth could see that his partner was tense and exhausted. She needed some rest but she needed a diversion, a little fun, even more and she could rest on the beach as easily as in their suite. Booth had easily suggested they spend the afternoon on the beach and was sure the suggestion had been a good one by her quick acquiescence. Smiling impishly, she had headed to change, really looking forward to a relaxing afternoon with nothing more strenuous to do than spread on tanning lotion. But, she should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

Booth's phone rang just as Brennan entered the bedroom to get changed and he cursed roundly as he hung up a couple of minutes later. Shit, the locals were asking for their assistance with interviewing Newman who had told them he would only speak to Dr. Brennan. They had enough evidence to put the bastard away for the rest of his life and Booth didn't want Brennan to ever have to see that creep again but it was their job. Her smile faded as she saw the look on his face.

"We're not going to the beach, are we?" she asked almost wistfully.

"No. They need us to interrogate Newman. He says he'll only talk to you," Booth watched her closely as he gave her the news and if he hadn't known her so well, he wouldn't have noticed the tightening of her jaw. She really didn't want to do this. "Hey," he tilted her chin up so he could see her eyes, "let me take this one."

"I'm fine, Booth," she winced at the slight snap in her voice, proving that she wasn't fine but pushed on. "It's my job, Booth. Let's just get it over with."

"Are you sure, Bones? You don't have to do this," he assured her, but he knew that look of stubborn determination and knew it was pointless to argue. Ushering her out of the room ahead of him, he studied her worriedly, hoping this was easier on her than he thought it was going to be.

Newman was already in the interrogation room when they arrived and Booth was brought up short by the usually fastidious man's personal appearance. Beyond the whole nobody looked good in an orange jumpsuit thing, Newman's face was a mass of bruises and grotesquely protruding lumps. He looked like the elephant man. Booth had already known Brennan had kicked Newman's ass but, man, she had really done a number on the creep. Throwing Brennan an approving smile and a wink, Booth held out a chair for her, noting that Newman's chilling gaze had fixed on Brennan the instant they walked in the door. Brennan's gaze was equally as chilling as she met the serial killer's eyes levelly.

"What do you want?" Booth almost laughed aloud as she got straight to the point, her voice glacial.

"I said I would speak with you, Dr. Brennan, and only you. I'm sure your _partner_ can find something else to do while we converse." Newman finally spared Booth a condescending glance and Booth did laugh aloud.

"I don't know, Andy, it doesn't look like being alone with my partner worked out all that well for you before. I think I should stick around for your protection," Booth taunted relaxing back in his chair as if he had nothing better to do, pleased to see fury mounting behind those cold, dark eyes. It wouldn't take long to break this creep. "So what was it you wanted to talk about?" Booth asked easily earning himself a disdainful look from Newman.

"I seem to have forgotten what I wanted to talk about, Agent Booth. In fact, my memory is getting foggier by the second." Brennan laughed at that one, shooting Booth an _is he freaking kidding us_ look, clearly seeing Newman's attempt to manipulate them.

"Okay, dirtbag, listen up. No way am I leaving my partner alone with scum like you so either start talking or we're out of here," Booth sat forward and dropped the friendly tone. He meant every word out of his mouth.

"By all means, feel free to leave, Agent Booth. In fact, I now realize it would be remiss of me to speak to you before my attorney arrives," Newman taunted like he had an ace in the hole. Booth was more than glad to burst his bubble.

"Suit yourself, Andy. But if you're talking about Mr. Dalton, I'm afraid he won't be here for quite some time." Booth didn't even try to hide the amusement lacing his voice. Brennan snorted.

"Yeah, like never," she backed Booth up. Newman hadn't believed Booth but he saw the truth in Brennan's eyes and finally began to sweat, realizing that maybe for the first time ever he was going to be facing the consequences of his actions. Booth gave Newman a long look and knew he would be blubbering like a baby shortly. He and Brennan didn't need to be here for this and she didn't need to be subjected to hearing what Newman would be saying.

"Come on, Bones. We don't need to hear what this guys going to say," Booth told her softly, pulling her to her feet.

"They begged for their lives and did anything I wanted them to just like you would have, you slut," hissed Newman viciously at Brennan. Since they weren't willing to play his game, he had apparently decided to go for causing Brennan pain, either not realizing or not caring that he was sealing his own fate. Booth slipped an arm around her shoulders as she stiffened in outrage at the taunt. They were almost to the door of the interrogation room when Brennan turned around and went back to the table, planting her palms on its surface and leaning forward.

"I have just one thing to say to you, Andy," Newman stiffened at her use of the nickname Booth had been using for him but kept his mouth shut. Booth was eyeing Brennan closely and knew she was pissed but he had no idea what she was going to do until a smile of supreme satisfaction drifted across her face. "I win," she taunted the serial killer. Booth was already moving when Newman lunged upward from his chair, his hands forming claws and reaching for Brennan's neck but he wasn't quite fast enough to stop her fist making contact with cartilage and rebreaking the man's nose. Newman fell back into his chair, his hands cupped over his gushing nose, whimpering in pain. Booth was trying to pull Brennan away but she discovered she had one more thing to say to Newman after all. "Oh, and Andy, be sure and give Bubba my regards." She straightened and turned to Booth with a self satisfied smile.

"Feel better, now?" Booth inquired drily.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I feel much better," she told him honestly, leading the way out of the interrogation room. She was done here.

Barbara and Bunny had apparently decided that Brennan needed a mother and, any time she was in the hotel, they were solicitously at her side and she had no idea how to handle this. Her broad hints that she would like some time alone were pushed aside as if she had never voiced them. Even though she genuinely liked both of the women, she finally decided to just bluntly tell them to go away but every time she opened her mouth to do so, her inner Angela interceded. Angela really liked the women and assured Brennan that she should just relax and go with the flow. Brennan still didn't know what that meant but she didn't tell them to go away. When they had started insisting that she go to the spa and have the full treatment, Brennan had shuddered in horror at the thought and put her foot down which meant she had nagged Booth into telling the women that they had work to do before going home tomorrow and she just didn't have time for the spa. Ignoring his teasing and laughter, Brennan had closed the door behind the exhausting women, mentally congratulating herself on outsmarting them. She had really thought it would be more difficult than that, those two could give Angela lessons in tenaciousness.

She had found out just how tenacious they were an hour later when they showed back up followed by the entire staff of the spa who had packed up everything they needed to give Brennan 'the works'. She had protested and frantically shot Booth looks begging for help as she was being dragged into the bedroom by Barbara on one side and Bunny on the other but he had been too busy laughing to offer much assistance. Her narrowed eyes had told him she wouldn't soon forget that but he couldn't seem to contain his mirth long enough to even care so she had resigned herself to a freaking spa day. Every single inch of her body had received some kind of treatment and she was absolutely exhausted by the time she was done. When she voiced those thoughts and hoped the two women would suggest a nap, the two evil women laughed at her and made her watch a fashion show from one of the boutiques to pick out something to wear to dinner that night, insisting that she and Booth join them for dinner for their last night on the island. Finally out of sheer self preservation, Brennan had just pointed in the general direction of one of the models, not even paying any attention to what she was choosing.

She had sitten up and taken notice when she unzipped the garment bag to get ready for dinner that evening. No freaking way was her first thought even as she ignored the catcalls Angela was bouncing around inside her head. She had marched out of the bedroom and told Booth she wasn't going to dinner then felt bad when she let him assume she wasn't feeling well and he went into freak out mode so she finally gritted out that she couldn't go and not wear the dress Bunny and Barbara had supplied because it would hurt their feelings and since she was not going out in public wearing that she couldn't go. Instead of any sympathy whatsoever, Booth laughed himself silly over her choosing the dress and then refusing to wear it. It couldn't be that bad, he had cajoled when he had finally realized she wasn't going to budge. She just crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him stubbornly until he muttered, _It's not like Angela picked it out so what's the big deal_? under his breath and Brennan snapped.

_So, Seeley Booth thought she couldn't be as bad as Angela?_ Brennan wasn't sure why that bothered her so much but it bugged the hell out of her. _Oh, who the hell was she kidding? _Everything seemed to piss her off today and she knew exactly why. Booth. He had slipped seamlessly from his role of pretend lover back into the role of her big, strong protector and it was making her absolutely crazy. He was obviously still more than a little freaked out by seeing a gun being held to her head. It wasn't that hard to tell, the man only let her out of his sight to go to the restroom and then he waited for her on the other side of the door. He even followed her around when they were in their suite at the hotel. And he kept watching her, not even trying to hide the fact that he seemed to think she was going to snap at any second and he would have to intervene. She knew she had been a little emotional during this case but was a little insulted that he seemed to think she was now mentally unstable but it was the fact that they would be leaving the island tomorrow that had really put her in this mood.

She felt like she had been trying to make Booth notice that she would be a suitable mate for him forever and he either hadn't noticed or hadn't been interested so, in her vulnerability after being held at gunpoint by Derek, she had just blurted out her feelings, again, and….nothing. Booth hadn't laughed this time but he sure as hell hadn't done anything else either. He hadn't made a move, he hadn't mentioned her words, just….nothing. The only thing he had done was to figuratively tie her hands, making it impossible for her to bring it up and maintain any semblance of pride. So they were at a stalemate. The next move was up to him. And that was the crux of her little snit. She didn't like not being in control of her own life, she didn't like waiting for other people to make decisions about her life for her and, hey, she really didn't like not getting what she wanted, so Booth's words really rubbed her the wrong way.

She tried to tell herself that she had been under a lot of pressure and not to do anything she would regret but she was too pissed to care that her reasoning might be faulty at the moment. She was just as capable of inappropriate behavior as the next girl and she would show him just how bad she could be starting with that damned dress. She had no intention of coming on to him again but the thought of tying him up in knots like he'd had her for days seemed like a damned fine idea at the moment. Without a word, she bounced off the couch and stalked to the bedroom, slamming the door in Booth's apologizing face.

_Damn_, thought Booth with a wince. He couldn't believe he had said that to her. In the mood she was currently in, he might just as well have waved a red cape in her face. It would have gotten the same results. She had been a little wound up all day and he could see her getting more and more tense as it got later. He just wished she would talk to him and tell him what was wrong. He had asked several times today and she had just looked at him as if he was an imbecile. He knew he was hovering, that he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of her. _Hell, he couldn't help it_.

She had said she loved him three days ago and he was still trying to figure out if she had meant it like he wanted her to or not. He was actually trying to figure out if she even remembered saying it. She had been physically and emotionally exhausted and drugged when the words slipped out so what was he supposed to think? It had seemed pretty inappropriate to bring it up during the two days she had been examining murder victims' remains and she had been so emotionally exhausted, he just didn't think she could deal with it right then. Okay, fine, he admitted to his laughing conscience, he was a chicken shit coward who was afraid that if he brought it up and she didn't even remember saying the words much less mean them, he just wouldn't be able to deal with that. She couldn't give him that gift and then take it away. God couldn't be that cruel but, despite his faith, he found himself reluctant to put something that important to him to the test.

His conscience was also kicking his ass about not having come clean with her about how intimate they had been the night she was drugged. True, he had tried to have that conversation and she had assured him that she remembered but he was going to have to tell her himself so that he knew that she knew. And he was even more terrified over that little talk than the I love you one. What if she lumped him in with Newman and Derek, an animal who took advantage of someone because they were weak and vulnerable? He liked to think she knew him better than that but this case had really been personal and emotionally devastating for her so how could he come clean with her now and expect it to not change how she saw him? But then again, how could he not talk to her about it? Their entire relationship was based on their honesty and trust in each other and hadn't he, in essence, been lying to her since that night? Would this one confession shatter everything they had built over the last five years and make the question of whether she loved him or not moot? If he didn't tell her and she remembered on her own, how would she ever trust him again?

Lost in self flagellating thoughts, Booth started when Brennan jerked the bedroom door open, marched to the table, grabbed her laptop and stalked back to the bedroom without sparing him a glance. At least she didn't slam the door this time, he thought and winced as she apparently freed up her hands and let her continued displeasure be known with a resounding slam of the door. Oh, yeah, she was pissed and he needed to do something now to get her out of her snit or tonight would be miserable for both of them. With a sigh, he got up and walked to the door of the bedroom, knocking softly.

"Bones, are we going to dinner or not?" he asked softly, thinking it was a perfectly reasonable question under the circumstances but he received no answer so he knocked harder. "Come on, Bones, you can't stay mad all night," he was whining and he knew it but, hey, he wasn't proud, he just didn't want her to be mad at him tonight. Still, no answer so he tried the knob and found, for the first time since they had been on the island, the bedroom was locked against him. He didn't like that at all so he knocked harder and distinctly head Angela giggling from inside the bedroom. _Shit_, he thought, _she was really pissed if she had called Angela on the Jeffersonian link._ Just as he raised his arm to knock again, the door opened a crack and a slender arm reached through, extending his evening clothes and his toiletries to him. Taking his things before she dumped them on the floor, Booth tried to catch Brennan's hand but, damn, she was quick and it disappeared behind the door, with the lock clicking in place before he could juggle his belongings and open the door.

"What did you do, Booth?" Booth heard Angela's laughing voice shouting the question and could clearly hear Brennan snort but didn't quite catch her answer.

"The hell if I know," he answered Angela's question even though he was pretty sure she knew more about why Brennan was pissed than he did. Looking at the items in his hands, he grinned. Apparently, they were going to dinner after all. This was good. This island was supposed to be a paradise for lovers and so far had fallen far short of that promise, but Booth found himself unable and unwilling to squash out that little hope that he and Brennan would have a magical night under the moonlight allowing them to work things out and return to DC with their relationship headed in the right direction. Hey, it could happen, he told himself heading to the other bathroom to shower and change. After all, this place was compared to heaven on Earth in the brochures and surely they deserved some divine intervention after the last few days.


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello, again. I told you my head was about to explode with words. Hope you like these. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth was in hell and he was being mercilessly tormented by the daughter of Satan. Oh, the evil one looked like his partner, sounded like her, even acted like her. Mostly. But Booth knew it would take an evil genius to come up with such a diabolically clever plan to make him suffer and his Bones didn't have an evil bone in her body. Even royally pissed, she wouldn't have come up with this so that logically led him to conclude that she was possessed by a demon. He had been so very sure that they were due for a break and he had convinced himself that tonight would be special and it was. A special kind of hell just for him. She was making him absolutely crazy by doing absolutely nothing.

He had almost tripped over his tongue when she had finally opened the door to their bedroom and pranced out into the living room. Thank God, she had been looking at her phone and he'd had time to pop his eyeballs back in and roll up his tongue from the floor but he thought he might have still had drool on his chin when she glanced up at him. He wasn't sure because it had taken him several minutes to pull his attention away from the dress she was almost wearing and look at her face, only to find her looking at him blandly.

"Do you like it?" she questioned with a lifted brow, giving a little twirl that had him biting back a groan. When he finally dragged his eyes back up to meet hers, her eyes dared him to object to the dress and he wanted to demand that she take it off. He didn't want anyone but him seeing her in that thing but he was well and truly stuck after his little slip earlier. There was just no graceful way to say 'No way in hell are you wearing that outside this room'. Not and not get his ass kicked and since it behooved him to be hale and hearty tonight, he decided to keep his mouth shut. Then he saw she was staring at him questioningly and realized she was waiting for him to answer her question. _Did he like the dress? Oh, yeah, he liked it very, very much for her to wear for him. For her to wear out in public, however, not so much. _ He was certain that his ties used more square footage of material than that damn thing she was insisting on calling a dress.

It was emerald green and made out of some kind of silky, slinky material that flowed over her body. What portions of her body it actually covered, that is. The bodice was supported by very thin straps and draped diagonally across her breasts, displaying enough cleavage to make a grown man cry or drool as the case may be. It then flowed over her hips, giving a very well defined view of a spectacular rear end and ended so far above her knees that Booth doubted she could sit down in the damned thing without being arrested for public indecency. But his torture didn't stop there. Oh, no, his eyes followed the mile long legs encased in black stockings and took in the killer heels. Damn for someone who spouted off that stilettos were the equivalent of medieval torture devices, she was certainly wearing them a lot. He turned away and rubbed his eyes to try to wipe out the image of those gorgeous legs wrapped around him but it really didn't help. When he turned back, she had apparently given up on waiting for him to compliment her on her appearance and was now waiting patiently by the door for him to accompany her to the dining room.

_No freaking way_, he told himself, debating on the best way to handle the situation as he approached her. He would simply tell her that he wanted them to have dinner alone on their last night on the island, that they had a lot to talk about. He thought she would respond positively to that and she probably would have if he had actually gotten out the words but she chose that exact moment to turn his mind to mush. Well, not exactly chose to turn his mind to mush but her actions still left him with the IQ of broccoli so her intent really wasn't relevant.

"Crap," she muttered just as he approached and she spun to face him. He desperately tried to keep his eyes on her face but just couldn't do it as she thrust her evening bag into his hands and grabbed for the separating sides of her dress. His eyes widened and he stopped breathing as he watched her smooth the material back over her breasts and refasten the single button that held the whole thing together, muttering about a wardrobe malfunction the whole time. _Oh, God, he so didn't need to know that. Did he?_ While he was making up his mind about whether this was info he needed or not, he docilely followed her out of their suite and to the elevator, his eyes never leaving the swaying hips in front of him.

They'd had a lively, lovely dinner with the Vaughns and the Rydells and Brennan never, not once, touched him or spoke to him inappropriately. _What the hell was up with that?_ He couldn't look at her without inappropriate thoughts flooding his mind. She took a bite of her food and he wanted to be a fork. She laughed or leaned forward and he wanted to snatch the tablecloth off the table and swaddle her in its depths so that only he would see how gorgeous she was and how that dress displayed her delectable body. She had been all over him for days and now that he was gearing up to make his move, she was backing off? What did that mean? Had she just been playing her part in their little game to outsmart Newman? He had no idea what she was thinking but he damn sure knew he didn't like it and he was about to put a stop to it. Without a word, he stood and extended his hand. She blinked up at him, placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor.

"Bones, what are you doing?" He demanded pulling her into his arms. She tried pulling back far enough in his arms to look at his face but his arms held her locked so tightly against his chest that she could only pull her head back far enough to look at him questioningly.

"What are you talking about, Booth? I'm not doing anything," she answered a little irritably. Booth snorted, not believing for a second that she didn't know exactly what she was doing. Her eyes narrowed and he regretted that snort. Getting her all upset wasn't the way to go about this, but, dammit, he had been sitting beside her for hours, using every excuse the functioning part of his brain could come up with to touch her, knowing how silky and smooth her skin would be under his hands and mouth, how wonderful she smelled and tasted and she had sat there in that tempting little dress treating him like her freaking partner and nothing else. He was so hot that he wanted to just drag her back to their suite and straight to bed and leave all that pesky talking until a better time. They could talk all night, if she wanted. Just after, not before. "Booth, what is wrong with you?" she demanded, dragging him back from his fantasy. Looking suspiciously into her eyes, he saw genuine concern and wanted to beat his head against a wall. It might hurt at first but it would surely help him gain some perspective in the long run and had to be better than this.

The song ended and Booth reluctantly loosened his arms from around her but before he could step back, Brennan gasped loudly and plastered herself to his chest. She was welcome to crawl all over him anytime she liked but the panic in her eyes told him that she wasn't getting frisky with him. Unfortunately. Booth merely raised a brow and she mumbled something so low he had no hope of hearing it. Leaning down so she could speak directly into his ear, he looked at her questioningly, then wished he hadn't.

"The button on my dress came undone," she whispered and he had no trouble hearing it that time. Hearing it, no. Believing it, yes. Now he really wanted to beat his head against a wall, a table, there had to be a hard surface handy somewhere. His eyes closed and his forehead drifted down to rest on her shoulder as he began to laugh. "It's not funny, Booth," she hissed directly in his ear and that shut him up. It was hard to laugh and groan at the same time. Navigating until they were at the back of the dance floor and no one could see, Booth looked down at Brennan with a grin.

"Want me to fix it for you?" he offered facetiously.

"Yes," she answered instantly.

"What?" gasped Booth, looking down to find her nodding her head vehemently but diligently avoiding eye contact. Booth had no idea what was going on inside that big brain of hers but he certainly needed to find out before he put his hands anywhere on that delicious body. Tilting her face toward his with a finger under her chin, Booth was charmed to see what appeared to be a flush of embarrassment tinting her cheeks pink. _But that just couldn't be_, thought Booth, _nothing embarrassed his Bones_. Well almost nothing, but apparently having her dress fall off while they were on the dance floor would do the trick.

Brennan looked at him through her lashes. She had known this was a bad idea when Angela suggested it but, no, she had disregarded her own instincts and listened to Angela when the artist had suggested that she show Booth the difference between how she had been treating him in the last few days and what their relationship would go back to being when they returned to DC. Granted Angela had not told her to lose her dress in the middle of the dance floor with Booth, but still, she just couldn't consider this the best advice the artist had ever given her. She would just have to put whole wardrobe malfunction down to unforeseen circumstances and bluff her way out of it if possible. Right now she desperately wanted to get off this dance floor, but to do that she had to get her dress fastened then she was heading for their room at light speed, pleading a headache whether she had one or not and going straight to bed. Booth looked down at her so long that she finally decided he had no intention of helping her out of her current predicament. With a disgruntled sigh, she worked her hands between their bodies and blindly tried to pull the sides of her dress together but she couldn't, for the life of her, find that damn button. She got more and more agitated, wiggling and squirming against Booth until his hands grasped her hips and pulled her against him hard.

"Be still," he groaned against her ear and she froze instantly, the tone of his voice unmistakable, a low, husky growl that vibrated from his chest and radiated to hers. Booth couldn't resist nuzzling his nose into her neck and inhaling deeply. God, she smelled so good and her skin was even softer than he remembered it as his lips skimmed over her neck. Wardrobe malfunction or not, it was well past time for them to get the hell out of here. Whispering for her to hold her dress together, Booth took Brennan's free hand and pulled her through the patio doors and into the shadows provided for those seeking to be alone. Backing her up against the wall, he intended to refasten her dress then hustle her back to their room but he got sidetracked the instant he looked down into those gorgeous blue eyes. Caging her in with a hand on either side of her head, he slowly leaned down and saw her eyes widen as his lips came closer and closer to hers but she didn't pull back or try to avoid his kiss.

"Are we still undercover?" She queried just as his lips touched hers, soft as a butterflies wings, then came back and settled for a much deeper, much more thorough, deep, wet, open mouthed kiss that left them both panting for breath.

_What had she asked him?_ Wondered Booth. _If they were still undercover or not?_ They could be anything she wanted them to be as long as she kept kissing him like that. He completely lost his train of thought as her hands stole up his chest, encircled his neck and pulled his head down. She swallowed his moan as her mouth opened under his and he returned the favor at his tongue slipped past her lips and teeth to slide against her own. Booth had her pressed so tightly against the wall that he was almost afraid that was hurting her. Not that she was objecting, mind you, she had wrapped herself around him and was returning every ardent kiss and caress. And if they didn't take this somewhere more private, they would be doing a hell of a lot more than kissing against the wall very, very soon Booth knew without a doubt. Regretfully pulling his hands from beneath Brennan's dress, Booth fastened the button to hold her dress together and cupped her face gently in his hands, gentling his kisses and slowly pulling away.

"Let's go upstairs," he suggested quietly when her eyelids fluttered open. She looked disappointed but she nodded and took the hand he extended toward her. Intertwining their fingers, Booth led Brennan in one of the side entrances to the hotel and into the elevator. Once in the elevator, Booth could practically feel her withdrawing from him and he wasn't about to let that happen. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked quietly, pulling her against him. She chewed on her lower lip and avoided his eyes so he knew that whatever was going on was a big deal to her. "What's going on in there that has you so worried?" he asked, lightly tapping the side of her head. She knew he would just nag it out of her so she told him to save herself the aggravation.

"Booth, are we still undercover or not?" she was still chewing on her bottom lip and Booth couldn't figure out why she was so fixated on this particular question. Then it hit him. Their undercover rules, or rather, her undercover rules. No touching and kissing in private. Well, he hated to break it to her but that rule was out the window as of now, but that didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun with her first. She had certainly had him tied up in knots long enough that he felt a little payback was in order.

"Does it really matter if we're still undercover or not, Bones?" He asked running a finger up and down the exposed skin of her back and hiding his satisfied grin when she shivered at the contact.

"Of course it matters, Booth," she looked at him, aghast that he could suggest that it didn't matter. She couldn't fathom why he didn't immediately know why she needed to know but it seemed that she and Booth weren't communicating as well as they used to since they had started getting closer physically and that scared her a little. Ok, that scared her a lot. She had thought the opposite would be true and she needed him to be able to understand her even when no one else was willing to put forth the effort to try. She couldn't give that up even for earth shattering sex and right now she was just hoping she got to have both, but she wasn't entirely sure that was even possible with the way he was behaving at the moment.

Booth knew the way Brennan's mind worked and thought he had a handle on what she was thinking. And he was usually damn good at reading her but his brain seemed to only be capable of thinking about sex at the moment and he made the mistake of assigning his own motivations to her. And he would even generally be correct in his assumptions. Brennan made no bones about enjoying sex and seeking partners that she found pleasing but their relationship was so much more complex than just sex that she couldn't put it into words and he didn't think he had to. But he really should have tried because he was so far off base with her that it wasn't even funny and he was starting to stray into dangerous territory. Her increasing agitation clearly told him so, just not quickly enough for him to back off and not step on a land mine.

"Come on, Bones. Let's just see where tonight takes us," he teased with wriggling eyebrows as he opened the door to their room, expecting her to laugh. She looked at him as if he had just kicked her puppy and Booth knew he had just screwed up big time. He just wasn't sure how. She squeezed around him and started for the bedroom without meeting his eyes and he knew he had to fix this now. "Hey," he said, catching her arm, "why don't you tell me what this is about so we can work it out?" Now she looked at him like he had taken a shot at her kitty as well. Ok, then, she thought he should know what was wrong without asking and if his brain wasn't consumed with erotic thoughts about the woman in front of him and hormones like a horny sixteen year old, he might have had some hope of figuring it out but he didn't like his odds tonight. His chance of taking his infuriating partner to bed for anything other than sleeping also appeared to be approaching zero pretty damn quickly and that did not make him a happy camper.

"Bones, please talk to me," pleaded Booth, his hand on her arm releasing its hold and unconsciously grazing his fingers up and down her arm. He noticed the goose bumps being raised in his hand's wake with a certain degree of satisfaction. He knew that was a little mean but it was completely beyond him to be totally self sacrificing at the moment. Brennan gazed up through her lashes at him for several seconds, then took a deep breath.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, his phone rang and he winced at the ringtone. He couldn't ignore the call. The look Brennan gave him was full of understanding but she mouthed 'Goodnight' and hightailed it toward the bedroom as soon as he answered Parker's call. Booth spoke to Parker for almost fifteen minutes, keeping a wary eye on the bedroom door the whole time but Brennan had closed it behind her and had yet to reappear. After hanging up with his son, Booth walked over to the bedroom door and knocked lightly. When he got no answer, he tried the knob and found it locked, just as he expected. _Dammit, she had locked him out of their bedroom twice in one night. That was a really bad habit for her to get into and she was going to have to learn to deal with him and whatever issues they had going on rather than lock him out of their bedroom. _It never even dawned on him how utterly bizarre that thought was. There were two other bedrooms in the suite, but they had shared the same bed since moving here from the beach house and Booth seriously doubted that he could even sleep without her beside him anymore. Well, he guessed he would be finding out tonight, he thought dejectedly as he made his way to one of the other bedrooms.

An hour later, Booth was still tossing and turning when he heard movement in the living room and the balcony doors slide open and then closed again. Without a second thought, he rolled out of bed and made his way through the darkened living room to stand at the sliding glass doors and watch Brennan as she made herself comfortable in the chaise lounge. She, apparently, wasn't having any more luck sleeping alone than he was.

The entire situation was more than a little surreal to him. He had finally figured out what had upset Brennan so much earlier and wanted to kick his own ass for being so concerned about how hot she had him that he hadn't even understood the reassurances that she was obviously seeking from him, much less given them to her. He was her person. Her partner, her best friend, the one who held her when things were going badly and she cried and the one who celebrated with her when things were going well, the one she would call to help her dispose of a dead body because she trusted him implicitly. She just didn't trust herself. She was afraid of upsetting that balance and somehow driving him away if things didn't work out between them romantically.

Truth be told, he'd had more than a few anxious moments alone with those exact same thoughts. Not about her driving him away but about how he would be able to keep their partnership intact if a romantic relationship between them failed and he had come to the conclusion that them not working out was simply not an option. She was it as far as he was concerned and he knew that she loved him too. Yes, she had actually said the words but more importantly, she showed him every day. He was just going to have to get better at showing her the same thing. Things with his Bones would never be easy but they would always be worth it. It might just take a little time to convince her of that.

Suddenly mentally and physically exhausted, he slid the door open and stepped out on the balcony. She didn't look at him but that was ok, she would be looking at him soon enough because he had decided it was time to take his woman to bed. Without a word, he bent over and scooped her up into his arms. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder, leaning down to close the door once they were back through. Striding into their bedroom, Booth scooted her under the covers and followed her in. Still without a word, Brennan turned on her side with her back to him and snuggled against his chest as his arm slid around her waist and pulled her even closer. She was asleep within minutes. Booth smiled softly as her breathing evened out. He knew the sex between them would be explosive and he was having trouble controlling his urges because of that and God, yes, did he ever want to have sex with her, but this, this is what he really wanted to have with her. This sense of belonging, of peace, of knowing that no matter how bad things are this one person will always be there for you, this not being able to sleep without each other, this knowing that no one will ever love you or be loved by you like the other half of yourself.


	25. Chapter 25

**Hi, guys. Are you getting tired of hearing from me yet? I hope not. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Musie felt like having a little fun. Thanks. T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Brennan tiredly rubbed her forehead and turned her chair to look out at the floor of the Jeffersonian. She could see her friends all huddled up and knew they were discussing her. It seemed to be all they could talk about for the last three days, since she had started looking like death warmed over as Angela so charmingly put it. She knew she didn't look her best but it was a little hurtful to have it put so bluntly especially when she just couldn't explain to her best friend why she hadn't been able to more than doze for a few moments at a time for the last three days. No way was she having that conversation with her nosy best friend.

She and Booth had returned from Bali a week ago and things between had been essentially unchanged between them. Oh, except for the fact that Booth slept in her bed every night now. She was afraid that Angela would worm that little tidbit out of her and find it just a little too interesting. Brennan found it disheartening that all they did in her big bed was sleep and it was slowly driving her insane. She had even toyed with the idea of kicking him out of her bed but the last three days had convinced her that really wasn't a viable alternative at this point.

Booth had taken her home from the airport and just never really left. The first night Brennan had made token objections that she didn't need him to stay with her but he had just looked at her and opened his arms where he was lying on the sofa and like the well disciplined scientist that she was, she had told her inner voice to shut the hell up and crawled into his arms. They slept on the couch that night but moved to her bed the next night without any further protest from her. She had spent the next four nights wondering how the heck Booth had come to be living with her and she still wasn't getting any sex from him and plotting on how to change that.

Then three days ago, Booth had been sent out of town for a training seminar that had been put off earlier in the year because of a big case they were working on at the time. The seminar was required and this was the last one offered this year so he had no choice but to attend. You would have thought he was going off to war with the way he hugged and kissed Brennan before leaving for the airport, leaving her cursing the fact that there hadn't been enough time to drag him back to bed. But now, three days and sleepless nights later, she didn't care about the sex anymore. She just wanted Booth to come home so she could sleep.

"Bren," Angela said her friend's name so softly that it wouldn't have disturbed her if she was sleeping. No such luck, she just had her eyes closed.

"Did you need something, Ange?" Brennan asked without opening her eyes.

"Sweetie, I'm really worried about you. You look awful since Booth has been out of town. Did you two have a fight or something?" Angela came to perch a hip on Brennan's desk and Brennan opened her eyes with a sigh to see her friend's face creased with genuine concern for her.

"No, Ange, Booth and I didn't have a fight. I'm just not sleeping well," she threw Angela a crumb hoping it would get her off the scent of Booth. Angela's eyes narrowed and she studied Brennan's face suspiciously. She knew something had happened between the partners in Bali but they had both been so tight lipped since they got back that she couldn't get anything out of either of them. But she had seen the secret smiles, the constant touching, nothing inappropriate but they both seemed to feel the need to constantly touch each other and outside of work, you never saw one without the other, which, granted, wasn't all that big of a change but it was definitely a change. Even Sweets agreed that their relationship had changed during their trip but was at a loss to explain how. Had it been anyone else, Angela would have automatically assumed they were sleeping together, but she didn't get that vibe from the partners. If anything, the sexual tension between them had reached a new high and it was sometimes uncomfortable just to be in the same room with them as their eyes devoured each other. Still, she would be remiss in her duties as a best friend if she didn't explore all the options.

"Bren, are you and Booth sleeping together?" Angela demanded already sure of the answer. At least she was sure until Brennan stiffened and looked away from her, a dead giveaway that she was telling a big one.

"Angela, I've already told you that Booth and I aren't having sex," Brennan told her friend honestly but could tell that Angela was still suspicious. Angela searched Brennan's direct gaze and saw only honesty but something wasn't kosher with this situation and she needed to find out what so she could help her friend figure it out. That's what best friends did, after all.

"Whatever you say, Bren," Angela said airily, growing even more suspicious when Brennan looked relieved. Taking pity on the forensic anthropologist, Angela reached out and patted her shoulder, "Sweetie, why don't you go home and get some sleep. Live a little and take tomorrow off," she suggested. Brennan sighed and rubbed her forehead tiredly.

"It wouldn't do any good, Ange. I can't sleep without…," Angela's ears perked up, sure she was about to get the lowdown on what was going on. Brennan paused on a gasp, utterly appalled that she had almost inadvertently spilled the beans.

"Can't sleep without what, Sweetie?" Angela queried, her tone telling Brennan she wasn't just going to let this one go. Before she could even try to muddle her way through that minefield, Brennan heard a noise that brought joy to her heart and was on her feet instantly.

"Booth," Brennan gasped and Angela raised a brow, her mind still so focused on their conversation that she had missed Booth's booming voice in the lab loudly informing everyone he was back.

"You can't sleep without Booth?" Angela wanted to make sure her information was correct before she let the squeals escape.

"What? No, Ange, well, yes, but Booth is here. Booth is back," Brennan desperately tried to cover the slip revealed by Angela's relentless interrogation techniques and her own tiredness. Angela had more questions but, at that moment, the man in question sailed through the door to Brennan's office.

"I'm back," he exclaimed throwing his arms theatrically wide and looking at Brennan as if he hadn't seen her in years instead of days. It didn't escape Angela's notice that Brennan was giving him the same look. Looking at the FBI agent more closely, Angela was shocked to note that he looked just as bad as Brennan, they both had bags under their eyes that could be used for luggage. Basically ignoring Angela's presence, Brennan rudely pushed past her friend and almost ran to Booth, laughing and throwing her arms around his neck. Angela just happened to catch the look of utter contentment on Booth's face as his arms closed tightly around Brennan and she was surprised to feel anger sweeping through her. _Not sleeping together, my ass. There was no way those two weren't bumping uglies and her best friend had just lied to her about it. Why? Why would she do that? _ Anxious to get out of the room before she said something she might regret later, Angela quietly left the room, closing the door behind her to give them a little privacy. She was truly happy for them, she was just more than a little hurt that her best friend didn't seem to think she could be entrusted with that information.

"Hi," said Booth, cupping Brennan's face in his palms and resting his forehead against hers.

"Hi," she whispered back, her hands going to cover his where they rested on her face.

"You look tired," he mused, tracing the circles under her eyes gently with his thumbs.

"So do you," she returned, unable to make herself pull out of his arms. She was right where she wanted to be, she could stand where she was for the rest of her life and be perfectly content.

"Yeah," he sighed, "I've been having a little trouble sleeping." Her look told him that she knew exactly how much trouble he'd had sleeping and it was more than a little.

"Me, too," Brennan tried to stifle a yawn and Booth took another look at her. She was exhausted, so tired she was swaying on her feet and here he was making her stand in her office because his arms refused to obey his commands to release her when she should be in bed. Finding the will to turn her loose, Booth dropped a kiss on her forehead and stepped behind her, turning her toward the door. "Booth, what are you doing?" she asked but she didn't resist his hands on her shoulders guiding her out the door.

"I'm taking you home and putting you to bed, Bones. You're exhausted. You're no good to the Jeffersonian or anyone else until you get some rest." Booth might not have been quite so blunt with someone else but Brennan understood and respected straightforwardness. "Besides, I'm tired, too," he teased, stepping up beside her and sliding an arm around her shoulders without a peep of protest from her. "Cam, I'm taking Bones home," Booth called out without breaking stride or waiting for an acknowledgement that it was all right.

Cam and Hodgins looked at each other with raised brows. They, too, had their suspicions that the partners were now true partners in every sense of the word and Booth swooping in to kidnap Brennan within minutes of his arrival back in DC only reinforced that impression. Cam had known where Booth's heart lay for a long time and had come to terms with him and Dr. Brennan as a couple and Hodgins was just happy as long as his little work family was happy. He also thought Booth and Brennan did an emotionally devastating, largely thankless job and they deserved to find what happiness they could, especially if it meant they would be there for each other. Seeing Angela approaching, Hodgins could tell that she shared his and Cam's opinion. She definitely thought Booth and Brennan were sleeping together and something about that made her very unhappy, which was a big surprise considering she had been the biggest supporter of a relationship between the two from the first.

"Something wrong, Ange?" Hodgins asked, splitting his concentration between the artist and the slide he was preparing for a closer look under the microscope.

"You know that Booth and Bren are sleeping together, right?" she countered his question with one of her own.

"Well, no, I don't know they are but I do strongly suspect it," he supplied, turning his full attention to Angela when he saw her morose expression. She was truly upset about something. "Would it bother you if they were sleeping together?" he asked, his mind trying to work through why it would bother her and he didn't much like any of the obvious conclusions.

"What? No, I would be happy for them. It does, however, bother me that my best friend just lied to my face about it, Hodgins. Why would she do that?" Ah, now Hodgins understood as he heard the hurt and bewilderment bleeding through the anger in Angela's voice. Propping a hip on the table behind him, he crossed his arms over his chest and looked off into space as he seriously considered the question.

"That just doesn't sound like Dr. B, Ange. I don't think she would lie to you about something like that," he told her and the conviction in his voice gave her pause. _Was it possible she had misunderstood the situation? Had she reacted without having all the facts?_ She had to admit it was possible. Getting information from Brennan was like pulling teeth and what she considered critical, need to know information might not be viewed the same way by her naïve best friend.

"Thanks, Hodgie," Angela sighed. _Damn, she had thought she had this all figured out and now she had to start over from scratch._ She knew Brennan was exhausted and she was probably resting so she wouldn't bother her at home today but no way would she escape the interrogation tomorrow. Angela's title as best friend was on the line and she would defend that title at all costs.

Brennan looked at her best friend and wanted to beat her head against a wall, she wanted to curl up in the fetal position and cover her head with her arms until the relentless woman just went away. She wanted to cry uncle and just tell her whatever the hell it was she wanted to know but it had come down to a battle of wills and Brennan was determined not to lose. She might have precious little control over her own life at the moment, but this she could control.

"All you have to do is tell me, Bren, and I'll go away," Angela singsonged and Brennan gritted her teeth to keep the words from escaping so that this torture would be over.

Angela had met her at the lab doors this morning all perky and peppy and Brennan had known something was up, then she had dogged her every footstep for the last five hours with her persistent questions, waving aside Brennan's assertion that she didn't want to talk about it. Brennan couldn't even go to the freaking ladies room to escape her. She had tried, several times but Angela just followed her, yammering the whole time. She had even resorted to texting Booth, demanding that he find her a dead body to which he had laughingly responded that he would see what he could do. That had been in hour one and so far, he hadn't come to her rescue. _I mean, really, was it too much to ask for a freaking dead body to turn up when you needed one? Apparently it was but did she complain about all the bodies that turned up when it was so damned inconvenient? No, she did not and oh, my God, if Angela didn't stop soon, she would be insane before the end of the day._ Was winning a battle of wills with her perky best friend really important enough to sacrifice her sanity over? She thought it was until Angela's mouth opened again and quickly changed her mind. Hell, no, she didn't have a secret deep enough, dark enough to make this torture worth it to protect.

"Stop," Brennan almost whimpered, her head coming to rest atop her folded arms on her desk. She didn't have to see Angela's face to know the artist wore a smile of satisfaction. Angela took great pride in her ability to ferret information out of people and, although Brennan had never doubted the veracity of Angela's claim she had never had it used on her quite so blatantly before. Now that she had, she could only be glad that Angela fought on the side of good instead of evil cause, damn, the girl had skills.

"Don't worry, Bren, the painful part is over with now," soothed Angela and Brennan shot her a drop dead look that caught Angela completely unaware. _When had Brennan learned to give looks like that?_ Hmm, that would have to be a question for later, she was after much bigger fish at the moment. "So, Bren, you look better this morning. Get a good night's sleep last night?" Brennan's eyes narrowed at the question as it was completely unrelated to the one's Angela had been peppering her with all day.

"Yes, Angela, I slept very well last night. Thank you for asking." Angela's lips twitched at the oh so polite answer coming out of Brennan's mouth while she glared daggers at her. Now that Angela found herself in the position of almost obtaining the information she needed, she hesitated and wasn't sure why except that her instincts were screaming a warning that this was a very bad idea. Looking at Brennan more closely, Angela saw that her friend was genuinely distressed. In fact, she was royally pissed. At her. Angela swallowed hard as she realized what she had been about to do. She never, ever used her techniques on true friends for two reasons. The first was that information obtained under duress was always suspect and the second was there was no surer way to lose a friend than to force them to confide something to you that they weren't ready to share. Suddenly, she was very ashamed of herself.

"Bren, I'm sorry," Angela leaned forward and laid her hand on Brennan's forearm where it rested on her desk. Brennan looked at her suspiciously, obviously wondering if this was simply a change in tactics but she didn't pull her arm away and Angela was encouraged. "You and Booth are none of my business and I'm sorry I've nagged you all day to tell me something you obviously don't want to share. I will understand if you never want to tell me anything again but I'll listen whenever you're ready to talk," Angela rose from her chair and headed for the door, her head hung a little in shame at what she had put her best friend through today. "I really am sorry, Sweetie," she offered softly, placing her hand on the doorknob.

"Ange, wait." Something must have convinced Brennan that she was serious about the apologies and Angela turned back to find the other woman gnawing on her lower lip and eyeing her appraisingly. Raising a brow, Angela waited. "What if we talked about a hypothetical situation?" Brennan offered. Angela nodded slowly and walked back to her chair. Brennan hadn't realized how much she needed to talk to someone about what was going on in her life at the moment until Angela had been about to exit her office. She desperately needed some perspective and no one would give it to her straight like her best friend, but she just couldn't bring herself to blurt out the facts about her and Booth. So she couched it in a hypothetical situation knowing that with her savvy, Angela would know they were really discussing the partners, but Brennan's pride could live with that.

"Hypothetically speaking, what would you say if two people were sleeping together and not having sex?" Angela almost sagged in disappointment. She knew she didn't deserve it after the way she had treated Brennan today but she had thought they were going to talk about her and Booth, but this conversation couldn't be about those two because no way would they crawl into the same bed and not have sex. It must be some research on one of Brennan's anthropological papers. Prepared to lend her expertise to the subject, Angela gave the question some serious thought.

"Are they the same sex?"

"No."

"Is either one of them gay?"

"No."

"Are they both hot or is one of them hot and the other is ugly?"

"I would have to say they are both attractive to members of the opposite sex." Angela's eyes narrowed and her finger tapped on her lips as she considered the options.

"Has this been going on long?"

"A couple of weeks."

"Is there groping? Kissing?"

"Not lately." Angela was too caught up in her own thoughts to notice the morose tone of voice Brennan used.

"When there was groping and kissing, who instigated it?" Brennan perked up at the air of excitement in Angela's face, sure she was about to get the answer she needed to tell her what to do.

"The female."

"Ah, there you go then." Angela nodded as if that explained everything but it really, really didn't.

"I don't know what that means," Brennan admitted, still hoping for an insightful breakthrough.

"Come on, Bren. If some guy crawls into bed with you over and over, especially someone you've put the moves on and doesn't even try anything, there's only one logical conclusion." Brennan had reached her own conclusions a few days ago, she was only hoping that Angela's would be different and let her avoid directly addressing the situation at present but she was getting a very bad feeling about this.

"And what's your conclusion?" Brennan asked, trying hard to keep her voice from shaking. Angela turned toward her best friend and calmly, logically shattered every bit of hope she had managed to maintain over the last confusing weeks.

"The guy's just not into that particular woman. I mean, seriously, no guy turns down freely offered sex," Angela asserted confidently. "So, did I help? Did I get it right?" Angela asked eagerly and Brennan managed a ghost of a smile.

"Yes, Angela, I think you got it exactly right. Thank you for your assistance." Angela frowned a little at the formality of Brennan's speech but she was just glad she was forgiven and had been able to help. Bouncing out of her chair, Angela headed happily back to her office, never seeing the tears tracking down Brennan's face.

Brennan didn't even bother to swipe away the tears as she spun her chair to face away from the door and leaned her head back against it. She didn't even know why she was crying. It wasn't like Angela had told her anything she hadn't already deduced on her own. _Booth just wasn't that into her_. She had figured that out days ago. She had just needed it confirmed by someone who understood men better than she did because she sure as hell didn't understand Seeley Booth at the moment. She had told Angela there was no kissing or groping, but that wasn't entirely true. Booth would never be so crass as to grope but he touched her all the freaking time. Little brushes of his hand on her cheek, pulling her hair free of her coat collar then leaning down to smell her hair and telling her she smelled delicious, pulling her against him when they were on the sofa, nuzzling his nose against her neck then laughing when she shivered from the contact. In fact, he couldn't seem to keep his hands off of her, especially when they were in her apartment. He would walk up behind her and slip his arms around her waist, one hand always going under her shirt to splay possessively on her abdomen, his hot fingers on her skin making her weak in the knees but apparently not him. He would drop a kiss on her neck or shoulder and simply walk away while she grabbed onto something for support.

And he had gotten into the habit of kissing her goodnight and good morning. She had come to anticipate those kisses as the highlight of her day. _God, how pathetic was that?_ He kissed her until her toes curled and then easily drifted off to sleep while she was so filled with lust that the nights were becoming pure torture for her to have him so physically close but forbidden. It didn't help matters any that she had been having this recurring dream about them in Bali. They didn't actually have sex but what they did do left Brennan physically aching for more. She had done everything she knew to do to subtly show him she wanted them to move their relationship to the next level short of handcuffing him to the bed and having her wicked way with him and she was flat out of ideas. And with Angela's insights, she was out of hope that this thing was going to lead anywhere but to heartbreak. For her, anyway. _Apparently, Booth just wasn't that into her._

A little pang shot through her heart every time that thought ran through her mind. _What was she going to do?_ She had no idea, but she did know that she couldn't continue to ignore that nagging voice inside her head that told her to do something, anything but things couldn't continue as they were. She was a logical, rational scientist and she knew that the longer she put off dealing with things, the harder they would be to deal with. Her biggest fear was that if she confronted Booth with this issue, she would drive him away entirely. Her biggest problem was that she didn't think she could function without Booth in her life. Oh, she logically knew she would survive but that would be all it would be. She wouldn't be living, she wouldn't be happy and she sure as hell wouldn't be the same person he had helped her become, but that was true whether it happened now or at some point in the murky future and she just couldn't go on like this. So, she had better be damned sure of what she was doing because she would be burning her bridges behind her. _But how could she be sure this was the right thing to do? Maybe she should just give it a little more time_. Trying to ignore her inner Angela who was telling her to grow a backbone, Brennan dropped her head into her hands with a groan. The real Angela had given her a headache and it was hard to think over the throb. Brennan's head suddenly came up the proverbial light bulb went off.

_Angela. Of course_. Angela would know what to do and how to gauge Booth's responses so Brennan wasn't in any doubt of her facts and it wasn't like the artist didn't already know about them, so her pride was already in tatters with her friend anyway. Besides, Angela was always pontificating on the duties of a best friend and Brennan figured that if she wanted the job, she could damn well work for it and help her figure this mess out. Feeling much better now that she had something approaching a plan, Brennan dried her eyes and trotted to Angela's office.

"Ange," Brennan gasped breathlessly from the door, "about that hypothetical situation we were discussing earlier, how could you tell with absolute certainty whether the man was interested in the woman sexually or not?" Angela didn't even look up from her sketch. She simply shrugged her slender shoulders, she was glad to help Brennan out but she wasn't nearly as interested in this hypothetical situation as she would have been in if they were talking about Booth and Brennan.

"She should just jump him, Bren," Angela suggested with a grin. "That should tell her everything she needs to know."

"I agree with your assessment of the situation, Angela." Brennan sighed impatiently. "But, what if, hypothetically speaking, that scenario wasn't a possibility?" Angela did look up then, her grin widening at the look of reserved excitement on her best friend's face. Wow, she hadn't seen the anthropologist this excited over one of her experiments in a really long time and Angela had some time so she gave Brennan her full attention. Patting the seat of the chair beside her, Angela laughed out loud as Brennan seated herself primly then eagerly leaned forward, ready to hear all of Angela's words of wisdom.

"Ok, Sweetie, does your girl want to blow this guys socks off or just subtly let him know she's interested?" Brennan didn't even have to think about that one.

"Blow his socks off. Definitely. She's already tried subtle with very disappointing results."

"So if this guy is stupid, why does she want him in the first place?" Furiously scribbling notes, Brennan's head snapped up at the question, she wasn't sure what she had said to give Angela the impression that Booth was stupid but, even being as upset with him as she currently was, she couldn't let that stand.

"He's not stupid, Ange. Like you said, he's just probably not that into her."

"Well, Bren, if he's not stupid and he's keeping this woman all revved up without coming through with the goods then that makes him a tease," Angela laughed. Brennan pondered Angela's offhand comment and her eyes widened. Oh, my God, Angela was right, Seeley Booth was a tease. She wasn't sure how that little tidbit helped her but all information was good. She would surely find some use for that interesting fact.

"So what would you do, Ange?" Brennan asked quietly when Angela's laughter subsided. The serious tone of her voice made Angela take a closer look at her friend's face and she felt the first stirrings of unease in the pit of her stomach.

"Bren," Angela reached out and placed a hand over the one currently taking notes. Brennan's writing paused but she didn't look up. "This is for one of your experiments, right?" Brennan thought quickly and was able to meet her friend's eyes levelly.

"Yes, Ange, this is for an experiment." It wasn't a lie, she justified to herself as a relieved smile lit Angela's face. Brennan had no idea how Angela didn't know they were talking about her and Booth but she wasn't about to spill the beans now and this could easily be classified as an experiment. Probably the most important one of her life.

"Ok, then," Angela was back to smiling, her fertile mind whirling with possibilities. If this had been advice for Brennan, Angela would have edited it considerably and explained it in detail but since it was just a hypothetical situation, she could be as outrageous as she wanted and she excelled at outrageous.


	26. Chapter 26

**This one is a little short but the good news is the next one is also ready to post and is long. Please keep the reviews coming. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth looked at the phone in his hand and frowned. He couldn't believe how put out he was that his partner had just informed him that she couldn't have dinner with him tonight because she was going out with Angela. She had also very politely informed him that she and Angela would be having a sleepover. She hadn't actually said the words _and you're not invited_ but they definitely hung in the air. She had been a little quiet for the last couple of days but she had been fine when he dropped her off at work that morning so what had changed between then and now? _What was going on with his partner? Oh, who was he kidding?_ He knew exactly what was going on with his partner. The same thing that was going on with him and if they didn't reach some kind of resolution soon, he was very much afraid they were both going to be taking pot shots at clowns.

Dropping the phone on his desk in disgust, he leaned back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head and closing his eyes so he could think this thing out. He knew that he and Brennan needed to talk. Things were getting more complicated every day and it was wearing on both of their nerves. It certainly didn't help things that he was sporting an erection just from hearing her voice on the phone. He didn't even want to think about what happened to his body when he held her and kissed her goodnight or when he smelled her hair or when he slipped his arms around her from behind. _Too late_. He felt like he was going to crawl out of his own skin is what happened and he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't be adverse to them consummating this new phase of their relationship. He could feel her escalating tension and knew one of them was going to blow soon, he just hadn't expected it to be today. The day that he had finally figured out why he had been holding them both back from something they both craved so badly.

He couldn't believe it had taken him this long to figure it out but he wasn't usually doing his best deductive reasoning when he was with Brennan which was all the time lately and he absolutely loved that part of their new relationship. They never lacked things to talk and laugh about and surprisingly, work was only a small part of their conversation. He adored going to sleep and waking up with her beside him, being able to touch her whenever he wanted, he even loved knowing that wherever he was in the apartment, she was only a few feet away. The only drawback was the no sex and Booth had to admit that was one of his self imposed rules. He had honestly believed he was doing it because Brennan wasn't ready to take that step in their relationship yet, that when she was ready, they would naturally progress into the intimate parts but if she got any more ready, she was going to set him on fire and he was still holding back. Granted, it was by the skin of his teeth, but he was consciously making the choice not to have sex with her which defied all logic because he was so hot for her he could barely breathe when she was in the same room. He stroked the soft skin of her stomach or back and felt her tremble and had to walk away with clenched hands to prevent himself from enacting all the erotic visions running through his head. And the nights, God, the nights were turning into pure torture.

He looked forward to that goodnight kiss all day. He usually tried to keep it fairly chaste but Brennan had other ideas and he would have to force himself to peel her hands off of his body and end the kiss when his body was screaming for him to just lie back and enjoy it, to let her take the lead and do whatever she liked to his aching flesh. _You know it will be good,_ his mind taunted. Oh, yeah, he knew it would be better than good and that made it even harder to ignore his yearnings. They would finally fall asleep and he would wake up with his hands all over her and her moving restlessly against him, driving him out of his mind, until he had to head for a cold shower. It wouldn't surprise him if Brennan's water bill had tripled since they returned from Bali with all the cold showers he had been taking lately.

He had been musing about just that earlier when he'd had his epiphany. He wasn't holding back because Brennan wasn't ready for them to be intimate. He was holding back because he wasn't ready for them to be intimate. The thought surprised the hell out of him because his body was more than ready but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he was right. He was still afraid. He knew that if he and Brennan didn't work out now, it would devastate him but he was afraid if he had all of her and she left him, he wouldn't survive it. _What if she wasn't happy with him and left him in a year or five years? _ Wouldn't it be better to have one year or five years with your soul mate than to settle for so little? _Yes, Booth acknowledged, he honestly thought it would._ Why are you afraid she will leave? _She doesn't believe in love and that's what she does. She leaves when a situation gets uncomfortable. _So, she's left you every time she got uncomfortable in the last five years? _No, Booth had to admit, she had never left him, had never, not once, let him down and she never would,_ he realized as his second epiphany of the day hit him. This wasn't about Brennan at all. It was about his fear and him allowing it to lead him to make crappy choices in his life. In the end, it all came down to trust and he trusted his partner with his life. _How could he not trust her with his heart?_

It being Friday night, he had hoped to take Brennan out to a romantic dinner and dancing then back home and to bed for real this time, but she, obviously had some bee up her bonnet and that wasn't going to be easy but he wasn't going to just give up, not after finally figuring things out. He didn't really blame her for being fed up and angry, he deserved it and he really deserved it for not even trying to talk to her about how he was feeling or about several other things they needed to discuss. It wasn't quite seven yet, he noted looking at his watch. He would try to catch her at the lab and if she wasn't there, he would simply wait at home until she showed up. He didn't have anywhere else to be. Scratch that, he didn't have anywhere more important to be.

Angela pushed open the door of the most popular dance club in downtown DC and was met with almost deafening levels of music and conversation. She had been stunned when Brennan had approached her a couple of hours after their little talk about her experiment and asked her for a girl's night out but she had been happy to oblige. Then Brennan had expanded the invitation to include a sleepover and Angela had squealed and hugged her friend in her excitement. All her efforts were finally paying off and Brennan was turning into a real girl. She had been a little surprised at Brennan's insistence that she dress up but it had been a while since Angela got all dolled up and painted the town red and she was always game when a good time was involved.

Looking around and pushing her way through the crowd, Angela didn't see Brennan yet so she made her way to the bar and dropped her coat on an empty stool, ordering a margarita from the very cute, very attentive bartender. Angela jumped when her cell phone buzzed and flipped it open to see Brennan's number displayed.

"Ange, I don't think I can do this," Angela was having a hard time hearing the words but she could hear the panic underlying them clearly.

"Bren, what's wrong? Are you ok? Where are you?" Angela was beginning to panic herself. When the stoic, nothing throws her for a loop Dr. Temperence Brennan panicked it was time for all the rats to abandon ship.

"I need you to tell me I can do this, Ange," Angela had no idea what Bren was talking about but there were few things that she doubted her best friend couldn't do proficiently. She was confident that whatever this was would fall under those guidelines.

"Of course you can do this, Bren. You're a genius. You can do anything you set your mind to," Angela encouraged, determined to be the best best friend ever after her little stunt this morning. She had more encouraging words but Brennan seemed to find those sufficient.

"Thank you, Ange. I can do this. I have to do this." Angela was a little taken aback by the determination in Brennan's voice.

"Wait, Bren. Where are you?" Angela could hear Brennan taking some deep, calming breaths.

"I'm outside, Ange. I'm coming in right now." Angela was struck by the confidence oozing from Brennan's voice as it was so opposed to the earlier panic but turned toward the door with a grin.

"Oh my God." Breathed Angela. The grin slipped from her face and the cell phone fell from her limp fingers as she caught sight of her best friend. Her eyes told her this was Brennan but it wasn't a Brennan Angela had ever seen before. This woman walked in like she owned the place, her stride confident and a secretive smile on her face. She didn't have to push her way through the crowds, they parted like the Red Sea for Moses, every male head and quite a few female ones turning to track her progress. Approaching Angela, Brennan laughed in delight at the stunned expression on the artists face and that was before she even got a load of the dress. It had been really hard for Brennan to take that first step into this place but she had followed Angela's advice and she was getting a little drunk on the feeling of feminine power flowing through her right now. She hadn't realized how much it had affected her confidence in her own attractiveness to think Booth didn't want her but, looking around, she knew she had nothing to worry about on that score. She definitely still had it. Slipping her coat off of her shoulders, Brennan smiled flirtatiously at the three rather attractive men that stepped forward to take it from her.

"Oh. My. God." Gasped Angela when she got a good look at the green dress from Bali. She had never seen Brennan look so, well, freaking hot. Brennan turned to the bar to order a drink but the bartender was already placing two in front of her and pointing out the gentlemen who had sent them. Brennan sent each man a flirty little finger wave and took a drink of the long island iced tea. Angela's mouth fell open. Ok, who the hell was this and what had they done with Brennan?

"Let's dance, Ange," Brennan suggested with a smile that showed she was having just a little too much fun.

"What are you doing, Bren?" demanded Angela, knowing this wasn't her best friend at all and praying to any God that might be listening that she was wrong about what she thought was going on.

"I'm doing what you told me to, Ange," Brennan informed her cheerfully. Angela had so been hoping that wasn't the case. Without another word, Brennan sashayed her way out to the dance floor, turning and backing up the last few steps and crooking a finger at Angela to come dance with her.

"Oh, dear God, I've created a monster," Angela whispered as she was pushed aside by several people eager to take Brennan up on her invitation to dance. Yes, she had definitely created a monster and now it was loose on the unsuspecting people of DC. They would be lucky if the city was still standing in the morning.


	27. Chapter 27

**Next chapter as promised. Please don't riot on me. We just have one more chapter until we get hot and steamy. Thanks, guys. T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth could see within steps of entering the lab that Brennan's office was already dark and it looked like pretty much everyone else had cleared out as well. Turning to leave, he was stopped by his name being called by the bug man.

"Hey, Booth, wait up." Booth stopped and Hodgins jogged over. "The girls are out tonight so I thought I'd see if you wanted to get a drink?"

"Sure, Hodgins," Booth could think of worse ways to spend the hours waiting on Brennan to get home and, besides, he could pump the bug guy to see if anything had happened at the lab today to put her in a bad mood. They all seemed to know the instant something occurred. It wasn't like you could actually have a secret in the lab. Deciding that Booth would drive because he refused to ride in that sardine can Hodgins called a car, they piled into the SUV and headed toward the Founding Fathers. "So, where are the girls tonight?" Booth asked casually but Hodgins lifted a brow as if surprised that he didn't already know but he still answered the question.

"They went to a dance club down town. Ange was really excited when Brennan suggested it," Hodgins laughed. Booth stiffened, less than thrilled with this information. Brennan had instigated the outing, not been strong armed into it by Angela which could only mean she was trying to avoid him. That was so not going to happen but he did have to give her props for effort, she must have been really serious about it to suffer through a girls night out and another sleep over. Too bad for her, he wasn't going anywhere; he would be waiting when she got home.

"Can I ask you something?" Hodgins asked hesitantly and Booth was tempted to tell him no but he shrugged, wondering what was on the other man's mind. "Did you and Brennan have a fight? Because she was crying at work today and you're pretty much the only person who can make her cry, Booth." Booth stiffened at the accusatory tone of voice as well as the words until the words sank in and then he felt like a heel. No, they hadn't had a fight but it was probably his fault she had been crying so how was he supposed to answer that loaded question? Hodgins noted the tightening of Booth's jaw and the flare of anger in his eyes and thought it was directed at him. He held his hands up in supplication. "I'm just saying that you guys should make up if you had a fight." Then Hodgins pantomimed locking his lips and throwing away the key, startling a laugh from Booth at the action. _What were they, 12?_

"We didn't have a fight, Hodgins," Booth unbent enough to say and Hodgins look told him he would listen and keep whatever he heard to himself but Booth wasn't about to talk to anyone about any of this before he and Brennan had a very long talk. Booth was grateful for the silent offer of an ear and that Hodgins was looking out for his Bones. The slightly awkward silence that fell was broken by Hodgins cell phone.

"Hey, Babe. What's up?" Hodgins' grin quickly turned to a confused frown.

"Ange, slow down. I can't understand you when you talk that fast."

"What? Of course I know what Frankenstein's monster is, Ange. Everybody knows what that is." Granted, Booth could only hear one side of the conversation but it didn't sound good and he looked at Hodgins questioningly. The bug man shrugged, still unsure of what was going on.

"Ange, that doesn't make any sense. How can Dr. B destroy the whole city?"

"Ok, Ange, please don't scream like that again. I think you ruptured my eardrum."

"What video?" he asked then winced when she screeched in his ear again. Pulling his phone away from his ear, Hodgins looked at the screen, swallowed hard, glanced at Booth out of the corner of his eye, looked back at the screen then turned toward the window and cupped his hand over the mouthpiece apparently thinking Booth wouldn't hear him with these precautions. "Is that Dr. B?" he whispered, his wince told Booth that indeed whatever had Angela freaking out, Brennan was right in the middle of it.

"Are they in trouble?" Booth snapped at Hodgins, already turning the SUV in the direction of downtown. Hodgins covered the mouthpiece of the phone again as if he didn't want Angela to know he was with Booth.

"Not exactly in trouble, but I need to get down there so if you could just drop me back at the Jeffersonian so I can get my car…," Hodgins broke off as Booth looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Hodgins, is Bones with Angela?" Booth demanded.

"Yes," Hodgins sighed and went back to his conversation with his hysterical girlfriend. "Angela, I'm with Booth, how am I supposed to keep him from coming with me?" Hodgins asked in exasperation and Booth held out his hand for the phone. Hodgins reluctantly handed it over.

"Angela, calm down and let me talk to Bones."

"What do you mean she can't come to the phone?"

"She's too busy dancing to come to the phone?"

"Why would I blame you, Angela?"

"Yes, I do know what Frankenstein's monster is." Booth and Hodgins rolled their eyes at each other.

"What video?" Hodgins yelled no and grabbed for the phone just as Booth found the correct button and pressed play. Luckily traffic was sparse because Booth couldn't tear his eyes away from the grainy image on the small screen. It wasn't a close up but he had been up close and personal with that body enough to recognize it anywhere. He didn't like the fact that it was currently draped in the green dress with the recurring wardrobe malfunction from Bali. He liked even less the fact that she appeared to be dancing with at least three men at the same time. Lucky for them, none of them were actually touching her or he would have had to shoot them on sight.

"Angela, we're almost there and when we get there, you and I need to have a little chat so you can explain to me what the hell is going on!" Booth's words started out being gritted through clenched teeth but had ended in a shout that had Hodgins wincing and covering his already abused ear but he didn't say a word as Booth closed his phone and tossed it back to him.

Five minutes later, a very angry FBI agent and a much more timid entomologist pushed their way through the crowd toward the bar. They had no trouble spotting Angela. She was on her knees on a stool, waving her arms above her head to attract their attention. Booth didn't see Brennan at the bar and a quick scan of the dance floor didn't pick her out either.

"Where is she?" demanded Booth rudely as soon as they approached Angela, who was almost sagging in relief now that reinforcements were here.

"Relax, Booth, she's in the ladies room," Angela supplied and then rushed on, "I'm really sorry, Booth. I thought we were talking about one of her studies when I told her to do this. I swear I didn't know she was talking about you two," Angela pleaded and Booth now got why she thought he would blame her. She had put Brennan up to whatever the hell she was up to. He wanted to yell at her about how easily she could influence Brennan and she should take that responsibility more seriously but he had an inkling that Brennan's behavior tonight was prompted by him as much as any of Angela's suggestions.

"How mad is she?" he sighed.

"Very, but mostly she's hurt." Angela suddenly stopped speaking and Hodgins' eyes just about popped out of his head and then started to drop until Booth snapped his fingers in front of the bug man's eyes. He knew Brennan was standing behind him before he turned but he was still sucker punched by how damn sexy and beautiful she was and it had nothing to do with the dress. It was all her.

"Hi," Booth said softly with his best charm smile. Brennan blinked but didn't smile back.

"Hello, Booth." Frosty didn't even start to cover her tone. _Ouch._ Without another word, she turned and headed toward the dance floor. Booth was one step behind her until Angela grabbed his arm and shook her head at him.

"I really don't think you should do that, Booth." she advised.

"Why not?" he demanded, getting really steamed to see Brennan being joined by the same three men she had been dancing with earlier.

"Because I might have told her to ignore you tonight no matter what." Angela mumbled.

"You might have?"

"Ok, fine, I did tell her that."

"What else did you tell her, Angela?" Booth's voice was dangerously quiet and Angela would much rather he yell than use that tone with her. It made her very nervous and she really, really didn't want to share the rest but she guessed since he would be dealing with the fallout of her well intentioned advice, he might benefit from details.

"Booth, I thought we were talking about a hypothetical situation so I might have gotten a little carried away with my advice. I didn't expect her to show up here tonight, looking like…that," Angela gestured toward the dance floor for effect, but Booth's eyes hadn't moved from Brennan since she walked back on the dance floor. "She's only dancing, Booth. And it's mostly your own damn fault." Angela's eyes narrowed and she went on the defensive now that she remembered why it had been necessary to give Brennan that advice in the first place.

Booth had hurt her best friend. Again. Angela told herself that he had hurt Brennan inadvertently but that didn't really matter, he had made a confident, secure woman doubt her attractiveness to the opposite sex. That was absolutely devastating for a woman to deal with on any level but it was something only another woman would truly understand. Angela knew she couldn't really convey how Booth's perceived physical indifference to her best friend had made her feel on a primitive level but she could damn sure try. He needed to know how he had made Brennan feel but she would never tell him so the job fell to her best friend. Time for Seeley Booth to get a little reality check and Angela Montenegro was just the woman for the job.

"I helped you because you promised me that you wouldn't hurt her again but you did, Booth. You made her feel unattractive and undesirable and, in all honesty, I just can't wrap my head around that one but that's not the point. The point is that by my count that gives you two strikes. I know Brennan doesn't follow sports but I can't really imagine her giving you more than one more chance so unless you're terminally stupid or just not really into her like she thinks, I suggest you pull your head out of your ass and straighten this mess out before you strike out permanently." Booth opened his mouth but Angela was on a roll so she held up a hand in a decisive I'm not finished gesture and he closed his mouth. "I may have given Bren some questionable advice today but you're the reason she needed that advice in the first place so this one is on you, big guy, not me. So, if she makes you squirm a little in return for you torturing her, it's a hell of a lot less than you deserve and I don't think I will tell you about the rest of the advice I gave her except to say that if you're not serious, walk away now because the next time you hurt her, you _will _be answering to me and I don't find you nearly as charming as she does." Finished with her rant, Angela gave Booth one last glare, rudely pushed past Hodgins and stomped off toward the ladies room.

"Dude, she was really pissed," offered Hodgins, staring in awe at the retreating form of his girlfriend but Booth didn't answer because he was still stunned from Angela's tirade.

Angela's words had hit him like projectiles, some digging deeper and causing more pain than others, especially the ones he had to agree with completely. And that happened to be just about everything she had just hit him with except….Brennan thought he wasn't into her. _How was that possible?_ He was always wound so tightly around her that it never dawned on him that she wouldn't know that, that she wouldn't just know how his hands trembled and his body coiled tightly with the effort it took to pull away from her every freaking time he touched her. How could she not know that he was barely holding himself in check? The answer was blindingly simple. She didn't know because he had never told her, he sure as hell hadn't tried to show her lately. In fact, he had shut her down every time she had tried to show him what she needed from him. Brennan wasn't used to relationships, she didn't read subtle human emotions well. How could she have logically drawn any other conclusion than the one she had? His heart ached for the pain that must have caused her and he had to agree with Angela, he deserved a hell of a lot worse in return than to have to watch her on the dance floor simply dancing with someone else. _Damn, he had managed to royally screw the pooch on this one._ He'd had more than one perfect opportunity in the past few weeks to just tell her how he felt and, instead of convincing her that he loved her, he had convinced her that he didn't even desire her. _How the hell had things gotten so screwed up?_ He didn't know but he did know he had to correct at least one misconception immediately.

Without taking his eyes off of Brennan, Booth walked away from a chattering Hodgins and onto the dance floor and pulled her against him just as a slow number began. A single look had her protesting partners melting into the background. She wiggled to try to put some distance between their bodies but he didn't loosen his arms and she wasn't going anywhere until he did.

"You might want to watch all the wiggling, not that I'm complaining but you wouldn't want a repeat of that little wardrobe malfunction," he whispered into her ear just before he took the lobe between his teeth and tugged gently. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until he heard the little gasp that escaped her lips and his eyes closed in relief that she still responded to him on such an elemental level. He knew he was fighting dirty but he was fighting for his future and wasn't above using any means at his disposal to achieve his goal.

"Booth, what are you doing?" she gasped, instinctively arching her neck to give him better access and he took full advantage of it, his tongue tracing the tendon on the side of her neck. His hands moved to her hips and he pulled her closer, allowing her to fully feel just how much she turned him on. To his surprise, she wedged her hands against his chest and pushed against him hard enough to tell him she genuinely wanted him to let her go.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly as his arms reluctantly loosened.

Brennan leaned back and met Booth's eyes and she didn't know whether she wanted to laugh hysterically or cry. Both were definitely possibilities at the moment. Despite her earlier phone call to Booth, Brennan had known she would be facing him tonight, she had just expected it to be in more private surroundings but maybe this was better. If he could tie her up in knots like a human pretzel on the dance floor, it was probably a really bad idea to be alone with him because Brennan was determined to do what she had to do and her decisions had nothing to do with Angela's advice. Well, the going out and the dress were from Angela's list of how to knock the guy's socks off but, deep down, she had already known what she had to do, she had just needed Angela to give her a kick start into doing it.

"I can't let you keep doing this to me, Booth," Booth could tell she was trying for anger but her voice wobbled and she didn't quite make it so he didn't know if he was dealing with Brennan being upset with him which was completely justified or some of Angela's, shall we say, quirky advice which was maybe not quite so justified.

"Ok, Baby," Booth soothed, "why don't we go home and sit down and talk about it?" His hands cupped her face and he pressed a tender kiss to her lips. He wanted to laugh out loud when her eyes narrowed and started to shoot daggers at him. He would take a pissed off Brennan over a hurt one any day of the week. He could and would gladly heal all the hurts he had caused but he had a much better chance of talking himself back into her bed if she was merely pissed off and that's exactly where he intended to spend the night.

Brennan fought the urge to bite his lip when he kissed her and she badly wanted to kick his shins at the same time. Yes, she liked Booth's kisses. That was the whole damn problem. He kissed her and she was instantly hot and ready to drag him off to bed. But it wasn't like that would do her any good unless she was freaking sleepy because it sure as hell wasn't like he put out. What she didn't like was his getting her all revved up knowing exactly what he was doing to her and then pulling the Victorian maiden crap that was driving her freaking insane. And, sadly, at the moment, she just didn't trust him not to do it to her again.

"You may drop Angela and me off at my apartment, if you like, but you're not staying," she told him firmly, knowing she needed to get those words out before she chickened out. She wasn't kicking Booth out of her life but she was kicking him out of her bed. She just couldn't take this anymore. She needed some time and some space to think things through and she couldn't do that with him clouding her cognitive functions with lust. Booth searched her eyes and saw she was serious but he wasn't going to argue about it here on the dance floor. He had no doubt he could talk himself into the apartment when the time came and he was fairly confident he would be spending the night. He might not have been so arrogantly sure of his powers of persuasion if he had been privy to Brennan's thoughts but he wasn't so he was stunned twenty minutes later when Brennan walked to the front door of her apartment and indicated it was time for him to go.

"Ange, can you give us a minute?" Booth asked, putting his big hand on the door above Brennan's head and pushing it closed when she pulled it open.

"You don't have to leave, Ange," Brennan told her friend, glaring at Booth. She didn't want Angela to leave the room. She knew Booth was going to try to convince her to let him stay and she was so weak where he was concerned that she wasn't entirely certain she wouldn't cave. The night out had done wonders for her self confidence but she'd had no revealing insights into her and Booth and she was, frankly, tired of the whole mess at the moment. It had been making her crazy for weeks and she intended to use this weekend to reevaluate and try to figure things out. It also, quite frankly, pissed her off more than a little to think she'd kind of had things figured out and then he just had to screw with her head on the dance floor again tonight. Now she was right back to not knowing what to believe. She knew she would have to talk to Booth for anything to be accomplished but not tonight, tonight she was tired and she and Angela were going to watch movies and pig out on junk food. Tonight was for her. It had started out being about Booth but it had turned into something she had badly needed without even realizing it.

"Angela, please give us a couple of minutes," requested Booth, his polite tone belied by the steel undercoating his voice. Angela popped off the couch and headed for the bedroom and Brennan glared at Booth for intimidating her best friend. Booth shrugged and gave her a smirk in return.

"What do you want, Booth?" she demanded and found herself pinned between his body and the door before she could blink.

"I want you, Bones," he assured her softly, bending to kiss her but she turned her head aside and his lips landed on her cheek instead which was fine with him, he wanted to kiss every inch of her beautiful body. Brennan snorted her disbelief of his statement and he sighed, seeing it was going to take a tad more convincing than he had previously thought. Not that he blamed her for being skeptical after what he had learned from Angela and he was definitely up to the challenge of showing her how much he wanted her. In fact, he was looking forward to it.

Turning her face back toward him with a hand on her jaw, he met her eyes levelly. "I want you, Bones," not allowing her to turn her head this time, he bent his head and covered her lips with his and whether she was angry with him or not, she couldn't help her response to him any more than he could help his response to her. Her lips parted and he dived right in, his tongue sweeping past her lips and teeth to mate with hers and God it felt good to loosen the reins he had been holding so tightly on his control and just kiss the woman he loved. He felt the softness of her lips, the sweet, wet warmth of her mouth and the erotic slide of her tongue against his. He tasted the alcohol she had drunk at the club with an underlying spiciness that was unique to this woman. And the sounds she was making, those little gasping moans of pleasure seemed to be reverberating in every cell of his body and shooting straight to his groin, making his already aching erection throb almost painfully in the same carnal rhythm that his body pushed against hers. Within seconds, his hands were searching for the button to release the sides of her dress. He had so much pent up aggression and sexual frustration that he was almost out of control when he suddenly realized he had to tell her about what had happened between them in Bali. His conscience just wouldn't let him bypass that little chat despite his body's screaming protests that she would understand and they could talk later.

"Bones, Baby, stop," he gasped as he disconnected their lips and her lips and teeth went to work on his neck and swiftly moved toward his chest, following the fingers that were rapidly opening the buttons on his shirt. When her tongue snaked out and started tracing his delineated pecs, Booth growled and surged against her, almost crushing her against the door. Out of desperation, he grasped her face in his hands and gently forced her to look up at him. "We need to talk," he told her as eyes darkened and dilated with desire lifted to his in confusion. The confusion cleared quickly and Booth watched in fascination as those eyes got even darker, widened then narrowed and finally blazed with pure, unadulterated fury.

Brennan could not freaking believe this. She was so hot and ready to get Booth naked that it wasn't even a need anymore; it was more like a junkie craving a fix, she just couldn't help herself. _Good thing for her that he had enough self control for the both of them. Right?_ Hell, no, it wasn't a good thing, it just reinforced her feelings of inadequacy and it infuriated her that he had done this to her again and she had let him. She was angry, confused and horny as hell with no relief in sight and she'd had ENOUGH so she turned her inner Angela loose on the most deserving person. Lucky Booth.

"NO!" she yelled directly into Booth's surprised face, shoving against his chest hard enough to back him up several steps. Stalking past him, she tried to leave the room before she said something she would really regret but he grabbed for her arm. "Don't," she warned, twisting out of his reach. "Just don't. I want you to leave, Booth," she told him as calmly as she could with her entire body vibrating with rage.

"Calm down, Bones," he soothed, stepping nearer but not attempting to touch her. "I know what you're thinking but you're wrong. I stopped because we need to talk, not because I wanted to," he assured her. She didn't even glance at him.

"Fine. Now would you please leave?"

"I'm not leaving, Bones. We need to talk."

"Stop saying that!" she yelled, her last threads of control snapping at his calmness in the face of her temper tantrum. Yes, she knew she was being unreasonable and juvenile but didn't much care at the moment. Desperately trying to calm herself, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Just say whatever the hell it is and get out," she ordered hostilely.

Booth could see there was no reasoning with her at the moment and sighed, knowing the best thing would be to clear out and let Angela calm her down. Much as he didn't want to do that, he couldn't talk to her when she was this angry and he actually thought she might slug him if he tried to touch her right now. Not that he didn't think touching her wouldn't be worth the risk but it would be pointless to make her even angrier.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow," he said quietly, opening the front door.

"No," she returned, jerking the door out of his hands and slamming it shut loudly. "You thought this was pretty damn important ten minutes ago so let's hear it, Booth." Booth looked into her angry face and thought she was adorable. She looked like a five year old throwing a temper tantrum. Hell, she was acting like a five year old throwing a temper tantrum and she was so damn cute doing it that he wanted to hug her and cuddle her into a better mood. Unfortunately things with Brennan were never quite that simple. But the woman had asked him a question and she deserved an answer. Not really an ideal situation to share this little tidbit but, then again, he wanted nothing standing in their way the next time they got up close and personal.

"Just remember that you asked for it," he reminded her, turning to lean his shoulder against the door and giving her a sexy grin that had her grinding her teeth together. _Did it make him a bad person that he was enjoying watching her little snit?_ "The night you were drugged in Bali, we were much more intimate than you think," he winced a little as he heard his own words. They had sounded not quite so blunt in his head but Brennan understood blunt so that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He watched her face a little anxiously, not really knowing what kind of response to expect from the volatile woman in front of him. He was a little surprised when she simply blinked at him a couple of times and raised a brow.

"Are you trying to tell me that we had sex in Bali while I was drugged?" Booth was a little concerned that there was no emotion whatsoever in her voice. He was also more than a little surprised when he blushed.

"Not sex, exactly, but we were very intimate," he cursed his own inhibitions but he just couldn't be as blunt with details as she was comfortable with. He would give her details if she wanted but in a more relaxed setting. He was actually hoping to give her a demonstration but he got the feeling it wouldn't be tonight. Booth watched Brennan closely as she spun around and took three steps away from him before bending and grabbing her stomach with her arms. Her entire body was shaking and she was making soft gasping noises that Booth associated with tears. _Oh, God, what had he done?_ He had been insensitive enough to tell her something potentially traumatic so heartlessly and now she was sobbing her eyes out. At her side in an instant, he gently grasped her shoulder and straightened her up only to stare at her face in shock. Those were definitely tears streaking down her face but those noises weren't sobs. She was almost choking on her laughter. Booth was glad she wasn't crying but he failed to see the humor in the situation, especially when Brennan laughed even harder at his expression.

"You don't believe me," he accused sharply, aghast that she would think he would lie to her about anything, much less something like this.

"Oh, please, you didn't really expect me to believe that we had sex in Bali and I just didn't remember it, did you?" she demanded, desperately trying to get her laughter under control when she saw how offended Booth appeared to be by it.

"I didn't say we had sex, Bones. I said we were very intimate," he gritted through clenched teeth. "And yes, as a matter of fact, I did expect you to believe me. I'm not in the habit of lying to you, Brennan. What would I possibly have to gain by lying about something like this?" Booth's voice was rising as his outrage boiled over.

"I don't know, Booth. But as you would actually have to put out for anything to have happened in Bali, I find that highly unlikely." Brennan snapped back, her previous humor completely forgotten, frustrated anger quickly rising to the surface.

"What?" he demanded. Had he lost his mind or had she? He didn't know but one of them had definitely lost it because they were no longer having the same conversation. "What are you implying, Bones?" he asked because he honestly didn't know.

"I'm not implying anything, Booth. I'm clearly enunciating that you are a tease with what I can only describe as sadomasochistic tendencies toward your partner." She wasn't yelling at the moment but she wasn't whispering either.

"What?" Booth was now leaning toward Brennan as the one who had lost her mind because he was having difficulty believing and processing what he was hearing.

"Me, Booth. I'm your partner." No, maybe he was the crazy one because she could not have accused him of being a tease. _Who even used that word anymore?_

"I know that, Bones. Back to that other stuff. What? I'm a what?"

"A tease, Booth. You do seem to be having a great deal of difficulty with that word." Booth was so distracted by her words that he didn't even notice Brennan dragging him to the front door of the apartment, slowing down only long enough to grab a paperback dictionary off a bookshelf.

"Did you just call me a tease?" He looked up in surprise to find himself on the wrong side of the door with Brennan blocking the entrance.

"Yes, Booth. Tease, t-e-a-s-e. I know you can read, so do yourself a favor and look it up," she suggested, slamming the dictionary against his chest a split second before she slammed the door in his face.

Brennan leaned her forehead weakly against the closed door. She was startled enough by the sound of clapping behind her that she spun around, having forgotten Angela was even there. Angela stood in the doorway, grinning broadly and clapping loudly then came toward Brennan with outstretched arms. Brennan wasn't sure what had the other woman so excited but she could use a hug right about now, so she returned the fierce hug from the artist. Angela pulled back, beamed at Brennan proudly then pulled her back in for another hug.

"What are we doing, Ange?" asked Brennan several seconds later when Angela was still patting her back.

"Oh, Sweetie, I just feel like my little girl's growing up so fast and I'm so proud. You just had what is officially known as your first hissy fit and might I say, you did a damned fine job?" Angela drew the now trembling Brennan to the sofa, pulling her down and hugging her tightly. She knew that Brennan was starting to come down from her adrenalin and anger fueled high, reality would be slapping her in the face any time now. And she had no idea how the anthropologist would feel about what she had just said and done.


	28. Chapter 28

**I just can't seem to leave this one alone. Enjoy. And please review. Musie has been a little disappointed in reviews lately and, trust me, we don't want her upset. It's never pretty. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Booth lay in his lonely bed for the first time in three weeks, hands behind his head staring at the ceiling, still trying to wrap his brain around Brennan's accusations. He would admit that in the past he had been a little flirty with women but not in quite some time. Not since he had developed eyes for only his partner, but he had been so stunned by Brennan's words that she had already kicked him out of her apartment before he could defend himself. And some part of the good little Catholic boy inside told him that she had every right to view him that way. He just considered it ironic that she had chosen tonight, of all nights, to confront him. _Hell, it was more than ironic, this thing was turning into a freaking Greek tragedy._

With a sigh, he finally gave up on the hope of sleeping and pulled himself up against the headboard. Ok, one problem as he saw it was that Brennan thought he had been stringing her along for the last few weeks. Yes, he had used the damn dictionary and looked up the word just to make sure he knew the definition she had been referring to and it painted a singularly unflattering picture of a tease. Unfortunately, based on his recent behavior, he couldn't really blame her for believing that and he couldn't believe that he had thought she would just fall into bed with him now that he had decided it was time. He sure as hell hadn't been thinking with his big head and that was the entire problem. He was so hot to get laid by his partner that he had been holding out on her for weeks. _How twisted was that? _ But that was his problem and he had that one worked out if she would just give him the chance to prove it which might just be a problem if tonight was any indication.

The bigger problem, as he saw it, was that she flat out hadn't believed him about their night in Bali. He tamped down the irritation that rose at the thought of her thinking he would lie to her and admitted that he was also a little hurt. He had thought she trusted him implicitly and he knew that she had. Three weeks ago. He didn't know if her disbelief stemmed from her anger or he had truly destroyed some of her trust in the last few weeks. He found neither reason adequate. It was simply unacceptable that she didn't trust him in all things and that he had to fix, pronto. _How could he tell her he loved her and wanted to be with her always if there was the possibility that she wouldn't believe him?_

The simple answer was that he couldn't and the saddest part about all of this was that the whole mess could be laid directly on his doorstep. Yep, if he had only told her about their night together the morning after, there would have been no reason to hold back and he would now be sleeping soundly beside his Bones instead of worrying about how to fix this mess and fighting the urge to return to her apartment and pound on the door until she let him in. He didn't imagine that would turn out well so he refocused on the problems he was trying to work out and suddenly the answer was shining right in front of him, so clear that he couldn't believe it had taken him this long to see it.

He wasn't the head person. Brennan was the head person. He was the heart person and for what now seemed like forever, he had been using his head to guide him with Brennan, holding his heart in check out of fear and it had led to nothing but misunderstandings and anger. With her head and his heart, they made an unbeatable team, professionally and he had to believe personally as well. It was time to put his brain in neutral and his heart into overdrive. And with that decision, it was as if a weight had lifted off of his shoulders. He didn't know how he was going to do it yet but he didn't doubt for a second that he would figure it out. Yes, she was…upset at the moment, but he wasn't going anywhere and he would be here when she decided she was talking to him again.

Brennan shifted quietly on the sofa, trying to avoid disturbing the snoring Angela who had fallen asleep on an air mattress in the floor. Brennan had tried to talk Angela into taking the guest room but Angela had refused to leave her and Brennan had no intention of going anywhere near her bed that night or any night soon, so they had dragged out the air mattress Brennan carried on her digs and settled in for the night. Surprisingly, Angela hadn't tried to get Brennan to talk about what had happened with Booth which was good because she had no idea what to say. She had no words to describe how embarrassed and appalled she was by her behavior and Angela had been so proud of her hissy fit, as she had termed it, that Brennan couldn't bring herself to burst Angela's bubble.

_Dear God, what had she done?_ She had taken leave of her senses, obviously. She had spent so long with her emotions in turmoil and they had finally overwhelmed her, which is exactly why she shouldn't judge anything with her emotions. She just wasn't any good at it. She found the whole process confusing, frustrating and illogical. She much preferred her world of science and facts to the world of feelings where you had to judge the minutia of someone else's emotions. _How the hell were you supposed to do that when you couldn't judge your own feelings?_ The simple answer was you couldn't. It was irrational to even try. Tonight had brought that home to her.

Sitting up with a sigh, she dropped her head into her hands. She hadn't actually accused Booth of lying to her but she had certainly implied it by her actions and words and she knew that had upset him. At the time, she hadn't cared. Now, she did. She knew Booth wouldn't lie to her and she should have let him explain what he was trying to tell her in a more sensitive manner which she had, admittedly, made impossible.

It had hit her about three hours after she slammed the door in his face that in her recurring dream of Bali, the details never once changed and that was more indicative of a memory than a fantasy or a dream and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. She didn't feel like Booth had taken advantage of her. It was pretty clear from her little snit tonight that she wouldn't have said no but she was a little concerned about why he hadn't just told her but even that she could understand. I mean, considering what had been going on at the time, she could see how he wouldn't want to upset her even more. Booth was like that, he tried to protect her from the world. What really worried her was that maybe she was remembering it wrong because in her dream, it had been spectacular between them but surely if it had been that good, he wouldn't have been able to turn away from her every night for weeks. Logically, she could only conclude that it hadn't been that good for him, certainly not something he was anxious to repeat and she had essentially told him to put out or get out tonight. It would be funny if it wasn't so freaking pathetic.

_Oh, God, she had to fix this, but how?_ How did they go from tonight back to being them? Because she missed that, she loved the physical closeness she had with Booth lately but it was driving her insane at the same time and she missed the easiness of them just being together and being Booth and Bones. She had to admit that this whole mess was her fault. She had been so focused on her own needs and desires that she hadn't even considered that maybe Booth loved her as his partner and best friend but she just didn't do it for him sexually and that wasn't his fault. Your sexual responses were controlled by the release of hormones in your body and were unconscious. You couldn't make yourself desire someone. And you couldn't make yourself not desire someone. No, but you could control what you did about those feelings of desire, she thought as her head came up.

_That was it_. She could not lose Booth from her life entirely and if she didn't lock away all those pesky feelings somewhere deep and dark and let them get back to being them, she would surely drive him away and that was unthinkable. It was time to put her heart in neutral and her brain into overdrive. That was how she was made, how she functioned best. It was how she had always lived her life. _Yeah, before Booth, but haven't things been better since Booth came into your life?_ Yes, they had been better and that's exactly why she had to do this. To keep Booth in her life_. Talk to him, her inner Angela urged_. She would talk to him but not about this. No, if she told him about this it would defeat the whole purpose. _You don't know for sure how he feels until you ask him, Bren, _inner Angel whined. Stop it! Snapped Brennan, knowing this was just her apparently inexhaustible hope that she and Booth would happen but her hope _was_ exhausted. She was exhausted and she was done. _She would survive this_, she promised herself, ignoring the sharp pain in her chest that questioned her assessment of the situation. _Your heart can not literally break _she repeated over and over but had to acknowledge that the physically impossible still hurt like hell as tears tracked down her face and she said goodbye to her dreams.

Booth couldn't believe how slowly Saturday was passing. Parker was out of town with his mom and Booth had spent the day in his solitary apartment, missing Brennan and thinking. Plotting was actually more like it and he didn't feel a bit bad about it either. His gut told him it would be a very big mistake to leave Brennan alone until Monday. It would just give her time to build her defenses against him he already had too many strikes against him to allow that to happen. So what was the brilliant plan? It was more like a series of little plans. Since he had allowed his heart to take over, he couldn't believe the mistakes he'd made with his partner in the recent past and he was done with that. From here on out, it was the truth. They both deserved that.

And he knew just telling her that he loved her and wanted to be with her at this point might work but she would always wonder about his motivations and he didn't want there to be any doubt about why they were together. So he would give her what any good scientist needed to assess something. Evidence that he wanted her and not just in his bed, but in every facet of his life, by his side every day for the rest of his life. Hell, it shouldn't be that hard. It was the same thing he'd been doing every day for years. Now, he just had to find ways to point that out to her.

It was actually the showing her that he wanted her in his bed that gave him pause when he thought back to her accusations of the night before but the longer he thought about it, the funnier it seemed until he was laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face. He could just imagine how embarrassed she had been when she had finally calmed down, if she had calmed down yet and since he hadn't received any panicked calls from Angela he had to assume she had. His oh so calm, rational Bones throwing a temper tantrum and calling him a tease. God, that was just priceless….and potentially useful. It gave him all kinds of delicious ideas on how to live down to her perceptions of his actions. He knew it would be playing dirty pool but, hey, his lack of physical desire for her seemed to be one of her big issues and he had to clear that up, didn't he? He really didn't have any choice and he knew just how to start.

Angela felt like she and Brennan were on the run from the mob. Brennan had dragged her out of bed at eight freaking o'clock on a Saturday morning insisting that they needed to go somewhere, anywhere except the lab and they should spend the day out then she would spend the night at a hotel. By this time Angela had figured out that they were actually only on the run from one FBI agent and if Brennan wasn't planning on running any further than downtown after her little freak out last night, then Booth had a pretty damn good shot of pulling this one out of the crapper so they might as well see just how good Special Agent Seeley Booth was. Angela was in.

Brennan was exhausted by 4 PM. Angela had gotten into her plans of spending the day out a little too enthusiastically and had dragged her into all of her "favorite" shops. As far as Brennan could tell, that was every one with an open sign in the window but Brennan had found a couple of cute outfits that had her inner Angela whistling and her best friend Angela raising a brow so she couldn't complain too much. Well, she could but she didn't. She tried to convince Angela to let her just check into a hotel under her own name but Angela had come up with this elaborate plan to make reservations under Brennan's name at several places then check into one under a false name so Booth couldn't find them. Brennan had stiffened and denied that she was hiding from Booth but gave it up when Angela stared her down and suggested that in that case they invite him to dinner with them. At that point Brennan had turned the planning over to tornado Angela.

At 8 PM a laughing Angela pulled open the door of the room without checking the peephole, fully expecting it to be pizza delivery. Her laughter froze and her eyes narrowed as she raised a brow at the visitor standing in the hallway. Damn, he was good. If he went to the trouble of tracking them here, there was hope for him after all and her nod told him so. His nod acknowledged that.

"Bren, it's for you," Angela called gaily, blocking Brennan's view of the visitor until she was right behind her.

"For me?" Brennan queried in confusion. "But, Ange, no one knows we're here." Angela laughed and stepped aside and Booth's eyes drank in the sight they had been missing all day. God, he couldn't believe how much he had missed her last night and today and, from the way her eyes were roaming over him, he didn't think he was the only one suffering from separation anxiety. "What are you doing here, Booth?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest to keep from reaching for him. Dammit, the very reason she had come to a hotel was to keep from seeing him. _Did the man not understand that when she ran away from home, he wasn't supposed to follow her?_

"I'm looking for you, Bones," he told her easily. With a sigh, Angela grabbed his arm and jerked him inside the room, closing the door on the nosily staring people down the hallway.

"Continue," she decreed royally when they both gave her strange looks.

"Do we have a case?" Brennan asked suspiciously. Angela doubted that either one had noticed that Booth had backed Brennan against the door and was leaning over her with one hand propped on the door just above her head. How the hell these two had kept from jumping each other so far was beyond her. They were making her sweat from across the room and she suddenly felt the need to make herself scarce.

"I think I need to run out for a few hours," she said brightly, grabbing her purse and waiting for them to let her out of the room. Neither one spared her a glance but Booth did deign to answer her.

"You're in your pajamas, Angela, and I'm not staying," he told Angela as his big hand came up and cupped Brennan's cheek, his thumb rubbing over her lower lip, his eyes never leaving hers.

"You don't want to stay?" Brennan gasped and dare he hope there was just a smidgen of disappointment in her voice?

"Oh, I very much want to stay but I'm not going to," he told her huskily as his head descended until his mouth paused only a couple of inches from hers. "I missed you today, Baby," he whispered just before his mouth brushed over hers. He meant to keep it light but this was all about the truth and the truth was he wanted to devour her inch by delicious inch. He wanted Angela to take off so he could pull Brenna to one of the beds and act out the seemingly endless parade of erotic fantasies that had been streaming through his mind for weeks and for this to work, she needed to know that, to feel that from him. With a sigh, he surrendered his last reservation, one he hadn't even realized he was holding on to. From now on, he was all in and he wasn't holding anything back. Not anymore.

Settling his mouth more firmly over hers, his hand threaded into hair that was still damp from a shower. God, he loved how soft and fresh her skin was when she came out of the shower. How her hair and skin smelled like warm vanilla. His lips nudged hers apart and his tongue flicked out to lick over her bottom lip. Brennan gasped and arched against him, her unbound breasts pressing so firmly against his chest that he could feel her hardened nipples through her thin pajamas and his t-shirt. Losing himself in the taste and feel of her, his kisses got deeper, hotter and wetter until she was whimpering against his mouth and writhing against his body and he knew he needed to stop. Now. Feeling her teeth scraping his throat, his hand clenched in her hair and he pulled her head back a little more roughly than he had intended. Her eyes flew open to meet his and he let her see just how much he wanted her, how much of a struggle it was to keep from picking her up and striding to one of those beds, how much he wanted to strip her and bury himself deeply inside her welcoming body.

Pressing tightly into the cradle of her spread thighs, he let her feel how much he wanted to do all those things to her and looking into her eyes, he told her why he wasn't going to do any of those things to her. Well, most of those things. For the moment anyway because he wasn't counting on his willpower to hold out very long when she kissed him back and moved against him like she just had.

"Things got all messed up between us, Bones. I know it was mostly my fault and I want to make things right but I can't have you thinking I don't want to take you to bed when it's all I think about anymore. I'm sorry I hurt you," he told her softly, rubbing the knuckles of his right hand up and down the soft skin of her cheek, "but I have always wanted you, Baby. Don't ever doubt that. I was just too stupid to do anything about it until now." He didn't miss the flash of doubt in her eyes, but he also saw the hope and knew it was time for him to say the rest of his piece and get the hell out of here while he still could, before he encouraged Angela to be on her way and took Brennan to bed.

"I miss going to sleep with you in my arms and waking up the same way. I miss my good morning kisses and my goodnight kisses which I'm not willing to give up, by the way. I will even go so far as to track you down for them. I want to be back in your bed more than anything in the world but I can wait until you trust me to be there. Just understand that when you invite me back into your bed it will be a hell of a lot harder to kick me out the next time and I can't promise I won't be trying to influence your decision," he told her with a sexy grin as his hand moved to her hip and shifted her against his erection.

"Booth, did you really track me down just for a goodnight kiss?" she asked on a moan as his hands slid around and cupped her bottom, lifting her harder against him.

"Yeah, Bones, I really did track you down for a good night kiss and to tell you that every time you run away from me, I'll be right behind you." Booth could see that she was pleased with his words despite herself and he had to bite his tongue to hold back the I love you trembling there, but his gut told him that he had given her enough to think about tonight.

"Ok, then. Goodnight, Booth," she grinned up at him and he knew it was going to be ok. Maybe not tonight and maybe not tomorrow but it had to work out. It just had to. The alternative was unacceptable.

"Goodnight, Bones," he grinned back. "Kiss me goodnight," he invited and saw her eyes narrow as he usually did his best to be the one in control of their kisses because she made him nuts when she got aggressive. Taking full advantage of the invitation, she curled her arms around his neck, pulled his head down and proceeded to knock his socks off, in Angela's quaint terms.


	29. Chapter 29

**I know this one is really short but it's probably going to be a couple of days before I can post again so I wanted to give you something. Enjoy. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Lying, sleepless, in the hotel bed, Brennan couldn't get her mind off of Booth's earlier visit. Her body was aching and throbbing with unfulfilled desire but she had almost gotten used to that over the last few weeks. It was his words and the ease with which he spoke them that truly gave her pause. A week ago, she would have drunk in every syllable and cherished them. She still did cherish every tender word, she just couldn't quite figure out what he was trying to accomplish and she was, sadly, afraid to just ask him. She knew what the obvious conclusion was. Booth was attracted to her sexually and she had to admit she did believe that now. You just couldn't fake those kinds of responses, she thought with a shiver as she recalled his hard body pressing her against the door and his mouth devouring hers.

_But why was he doing it now? Why did he have to do this to her when she had made the decision to return them to their previous relationship?_ A decision she had known she had no hope of following through on the instant she had seen him standing in front of her, she admitted with no small amount of self disgust. God, she had used to have some willpower and discipline. _What the hell had happened to that woman?_ Seeley Booth had happened to that woman, she admitted morosely. He had turned her from a calm, rational scientist to a hormonal teenager prone to temper tantrums and the sad truth was she kind of liked it. The real question was what was she going to do about it?

She had known she could have had Booth tonight, his body had told her that more clearly than his words. She had feel his arms trembling and his hands clenching as he fought off his baser urges and she had opened her mouth to ask Angela to leave but found she just couldn't do it. She could not utter the words that would get her exactly what she had thought she had wanted so badly. She and Booth writhing around in a bed with absolutely nothing between them. And that confused the hell out of her. That she, vocal proponent of satisfying your biological urges, hesitated to do just that with someone whom she had no doubt would be the best lover she had ever had. And therein lay the rub.

She didn't want Booth to be just her lover or just her friend or just her partner. She couldn't separate her and Booth's relationship into compartments. She wanted him to be all those things and more but they had already messed things up so badly between them. What if she did have sex with him and then messed it up enough that he left her entirely? She had no doubt she was fully capable of that and also didn't doubt that it would break her heart and she would never fully recover.

The safe, sane thing would be to just explain to him that it would be a mistake for them to allow their physical relationship to further develop and they should just resume their previous relationship and ignore the intervening events. _They could do that right? _ _Damn_, she thought sitting up with a sigh and dropping her head into her hands, even she knew that was highly unlikely to happen because she knew she wouldn't be forgetting the intervening events and she found it doubtful that the forceful, aggressive Booth of tonight would just go along with her decision. _God, what was she going to do?_

"He loves you, you know, Bren." Brennan's head snapped up at Angela's soft words.

"What?" she demanded into the dark.

"Booth loves you, Bren," Angela repeated firmly.

"He never said that, Ange," Brennan's voice was rising and Angela snapped on the light to see her friend looking at her almost in panic.

"He didn't use the words, Bren, but he said it plain as day. I sure as hell heard it," Angela assured her.

Angela had taken herself off to the bathroom pronto when they wouldn't let her leave, hoping they would come to their senses, send her on her way and make use of this hotel room. But, sadly, they had not. Angela had come out of the bathroom when Booth had called out, "Good night, Angela," to see him standing in the partially open door, cupping one of Brennan's cheeks tenderly in his big hand. "Goodnight, Baby," he whispered, bending to kiss her again as if he just couldn't help himself. Angela had been all hot and bothered, fanning herself frantically when he had finally pulled away from Brennan, whispered, "I'll see you in the morning," and disappeared out the door. Angela had stared at the door in shock that Brennan was letting him get away until she had finally focused on her friends face then she had immediately gone into best friend mode because Brennan had looked like she wanted to cry. Despite Angela's best efforts, she had refused to talk about it, insisting they just go to bed but Angela hadn't been sleeping. She might not get Brennan like Booth did but she did know her best friend very, very well and knew she wouldn't sleep until she figured out whatever was bother her.

"I don't know what that means," Brennan sighed and Angela pulled herself back to their current conversation. She almost smiled at the frustration in Brennan's voice but refrained because she could tell this was very important to the anthropologist.

"It means that he didn't use the words "I love you", Bren, but the words he did use told you that just as clearly as those three." Angela sat up beside her friend as Brennan ducked her head to avoid her eyes. "Bren, look at me," she demanded and felt her heart break at the tears standing in Brennan's eyes. "What about Booth being in love with you makes you sad, Sweetie?" Angela was baffled. As far as she was concerned, this was cause for celebration but, then again, she wasn't Temperence Brennan so she had no idea what thoughts were whirling in that genius brain of hers.

"He didn't say he loves me, Ange. He said he wants me and there's a big difference." Ah, now Angela got it. The empirical scientist in front of her believed in the evidence before her. Booth hadn't actually said I love you therefore he didn't love her. Looking more deeply into Brennan's eyes Angela saw that her assumption was pure bullshit. In her heart, Brennan knew exactly what Booth had told her, she was just afraid to believe it. She wanted to, the hope shining in her eyes clearly told Angela that but she was, for some reason, terrified of being wrong.

"Bren, what's wrong, Sweetie?" Angela asked softly, scooting closer and pulling the now sobbing woman against her.

"I'm scared, Ange. What if we mess it up again?" Angela gave some real thought to the question. It was certainly a legitimate concern. Even with everything going for it, a relationship didn't always work and Angela tried to always be straight with Brennan. The anthropologist didn't always understand the complexities of human interaction but she had no trouble deducing when someone was simply trying to pacify her and Angela refused to do that.

"I don't know, Bren," she replied honestly, stroking Brennan's hair. "But what if you don't? Can't that possibility be enough?" Brennan quietened at the question and Angela was surprised at the ease with which she had convinced her.

"I don't think I can take that chance, Ange. Not until I know for sure," she finally whispered, pulling away and laying back down, curled into a ball, facing away from Angela, obviously wanting to be alone with her misery.

Angela's heart ached for Brennan but there was nothing more she could do here. It would be pointless and cruel for her to push Brennan right now. She needed some time to just identify and process her feelings. Angela knew from experience how confusing love could be and had to wonder how someone as emotionally stunted as Brennan was dealing with it as well as she was. She just wished there was something she could do to help, she thought, lying back down to stare at the ceiling with narrowed eyes. _Bingo baby_, she thought just as she was about to drift off. She might not be able to press Brennan but there was no rule in the best friend handbook that said she couldn't help Booth out a little she justified with a smile as her fertile mind generated ideas. _Studly was on the right track but Brennan wouldn't have a chance if she lent her expertise to this little enterprise, and in the end, it was all for Brennan's benefit. Why she would no doubt wind up grateful for her assistance when she and Booth were together,_ Angela thought happily, drifting off.

Angela rolled over groggily when Brennan's cell phone chirped early the next morning. Brennan answered it quickly because she was sitting in a chair, fully dressed, typing on her laptop and it was obvious she had been there for some time. Angela was sure she hadn't slept at all and she knew that made two nights in a row that Brennan hadn't slept at all. Booth had better figure this thing out fast or they were all in for a bad time as Brennan tended to be a tad snappish and unreasonable when she wasn't sleeping well. Angela was a bit surprised at the cheerful greeting Brennan chirped into the phone then her rabid curiosity took over so she shamelessly eavesdropped on Brennan's side of the conversation.

"Hi, Parker." Brennan hadn't looked at her caller ID before answering the phone so the only way she could have known who was on the other end was for the little boy to have his own ring tone. _Interesting_.

"No, Parker, I'm not at home. Why?"

"I thought you were out of town this weekend." Angela's eyebrows rose. Brennan knew Parker's schedule? _Even more interesting._

"No, Parker, I haven't forgotten about our date. I just thought it would need to be postponed but I would be happy to accompany you to the batting cages today." Angela automatically smiled at the smile in her friend's voice as she spoke to the little boy.

"Yes, Parker. I can understand your father's insistence on accompanying us since he was denied your company yesterday." Angela was giggling by now and Brennan threw her an admonishing look but didn't pause in her conversation.

"I don't know what that means."

"Yes, I'm certain your father will understand if you explain that he may accompany us but that he must refrain from cramping your style." By now Angela had pulled the pillow over her face to muffle her laughter. It did cause her to miss the last couple of minutes of Brennan's phone call but she had heard enough to get the gist of it.

"You can stop laughing now, Angela," Brennan told her, pulling the pillow away from her face. She was trying to sound stern but her lips were twitching.

"So, Bren, how long have you been dating Parker Booth?" Angela asked irrepressibly. Brennan looked a little startled by the question.

"What? Angela, don't be ridiculous. I like Booth's son and spend time with him but I'm certainly not dating him." Angela's eyebrows rose at Brennan's pink cheeks. _Man, was she going to have some fun with this_.

"Correct me if I'm wrong here, Bren, but Parker calls you often enough that you have assigned him his own ring tone. Right?" Brennan nodded and, as long as Brennan seemed in the mood to share, Angela's curiosity just demanded to be appeased. "Just how often does he call you, Bren?" Brennan shrugged.

"Usually just to say goodnight or to tell me if something interesting happened in school that day, then a couple of times a day on the weekends." Angela's brows rose even higher. She knew that Booth kept in close touch with his son but she seriously doubted that he talked to the little boy more than Brennan.

"When did this start, Bren?" her voice was softer because she could see Brennan was a little uncomfortable with the conversation.

"When Booth was in the hospital. Parker started calling to tell his dad goodnight and talking to me when Booth was still in the coma." Angela suddenly deduced why Brennan was uncomfortable with this little chat.

"Booth doesn't know about this, does he?" she gasped, certain she was correct but unable to believe Brennan had been willing or able to keep something like this from him.

"I've never really mentioned it," Brennan wouldn't meet Angela's eyes.

"Why not, Bren?" Angela prodded, knowing that Brennan would either spill or close up completely. She chose to spill.

"I'm not completely certain, Ange. Booth has so little time with Parker that I don't want him to feel like I'm intruding into that aspect of his life," she tried to explain and stiffened in affront at Angela's snort.

"That's just about the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life, Bren." Seeing Brennan's eyes quickly cooling, Angela hurried on. "What I should have said was how often does Booth have Parker that you're not with them?" Brennan shrugged and avoided her eyes but Angela knew it wasn't often. "What I'm saying so poorly, Sweetie, is that Booth has invited you into the most important part of his life, Bren. He trusts you with his son and you know how important Parker is to him. I don't think he would see this as intrusive. I think he will be pleased you and Parker have bonded. I'm just not sure how pleased he'll be that you're dating his son behind his back," Angela just couldn't resist throwing that one in. Brennan's mouth dropped open at Angela's little speech but she grabbed on to the last statement.

"Angela, for the last time, I am not dating Parker. We simply go on outings together sometimes." Angela's eyebrows rose and Brennan continued talking. "Which he invites me to, usually expressly without the presence of his father." Angela's brows continued to rise. She wasn't sure if Brennan was talking because she was embarrassed or because she was trying to reason things out but it was entertaining as hell so Angela didn't really care. "He always insists on paying for the entertainment." Brennan's eyes were rounded with the beginnings of understanding. "He always insists on kissing me goodnight." Angela knew the laughter bubbling inside her wouldn't really help her friend as Brennan's eyes rounded with horror and she fell back onto the bed, covering her face with her hands but it wasn't easy to tamp down, especially with Brennan's next words. "Oh my God. I'm dating Parker Booth."


	30. Chapter 30

**Here I am, back with another chapter. A little more angsty than the last but we're getting there. Please keep up the reviews. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: They do not belong to me which makes them very sad.**

Booth felt a smile lift his lips as he heard the laughter coming from behind the hotel room door while he was still several feet away. He was glad Brennan was having a good time because he felt like crap. He was exhausted, physically and mentally and was hoping to talk Brennan into breakfast and then a nap as soon as he collected his good morning kiss. It was still early but he had waited as long as he could force himself to sit still before heading back downtown, knowing she wouldn't be sleeping either. He didn't know what was going on inside that room but he was chuckling himself by the time a very tousled Brennan heard his repeated knocking and pulled the door open. His eyebrow rose at the way her eyes slid away from his and her cheeks turned a very becoming shade of pink. _His Bones embarrassed? He had to find out what this was all about._

Leaning negligently against the doorjamb, Booth allowed his eyes to drift down Brennan's body. _Damn, she was already dressed but maybe he could talk her into doing something about that,_ he thought, finally meeting her eyes again. Her cheeks were definitely flushed now and it had nothing to do with embarrassment.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said softly, surprised when she grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him into the room and slamming the door behind them while shushing the muffled, snuffling snorts of laughter coming from the bed. Booth looked over to see Angela sprawled on the bed with a pillow pressed tightly to her face, her whole body shaking with her hilarity. "What's so funny?" he questioned but didn't wait on the answer, already reaching out to pull Brennan against him and leaning down to kiss her lingeringly, pleased that she kissed him back just as lingeringly. _God, she had no willpower whatsoever when it came to Booth_, Brennan admitted to herself, resting her forehead against his chest as he just hugged her tightly and rubbed her back. Just let him start kissing her and she turned into Pavlov's freaking dog.

"Morning, Booth," offered Angela cheerfully, tossing aside her pillow and sitting up. She was no longer laughing unrestrainedly but she was grinning hugely and the amusement in her eyes made Booth a little nervous.

"Good morning, Angela," he returned, a tad warily. Booth had seen Angela look at people with that expression before and it usually did not bode well for the person being studied. Brennan didn't know whether to hustle Booth out or not. She had no earthly idea what the artist would come off with and she could only hope it wouldn't bring up issues she wasn't really eager to discuss.

"Are you ready to go?" Brennan questioned, smiling up at Booth brightly, deciding to take her chances being alone with Booth rather than taking the chance on Angela spilling the beans about Parker. Despite her friend's reassurances, Brennan wasn't entirely sure how Booth would feel about her not telling him about talking to and seeing Parker so often and she felt the subject needed to be introduced in a sensitive manner. She had no idea how to do that but her brain told her that Angela chortling out that Brennan was dating Parker behind Booth's back wasn't quite it. Booth gave her an odd look but her smile didn't waver even when Angela's giggles reemerged.

"Sure, Bones. We can go whenever you want. I was hoping to talk you into some breakfast but, frankly, I expected to have to work for it a little." Unable to resist, he leaned down and nuzzled against her cheek before releasing her and stepping back, gesturing toward the door with an extended arm. "Angela would you care to join us?" he asked politely.

"I would love to join you, Booth, but I think you and Bren have a lot to talk about," Angela told him cheerfully and Brennan cringed, just knowing something inappropriate was about to pop out of the amused artist's mouth. Booth looked between the two women and knew something was definitely going on that he just wasn't getting.

"What's going on, Bones?" Booth asked suspiciously.

"Let's go get breakfast right now, Booth. I'm really hungry," she assured him, grabbing his hand and heading toward the door, completely ignoring his question but Booth balked at her obvious eagerness to get him out of this room. Grabbing her arm, he turned her to face him and tipped her face up.

"I would like for you to tell me what's going on," he told her softly and, dammit, he just had to stroke her cheek and look into her eyes when he said it turning her mind and her will into mush.

"I have a date with Parker," she sighed, looking down and missing the flash of fire in Booth's eyes at her words. Angela didn't miss it or the way his jaw clenched in fury and this was no longer funny. Booth opened his mouth but Angela beat him to it before he could say something in jealous anger that he and Brennan would both come to regret.

"She has a date with Parker, Booth. Your son, Parker." Angela sighed in relief as Booth's face softened with some amusement of his own at her words. _Whew, that had been a close one. _He had looked furious enough to hurt someone. Not that Angela thought he would ever hurt Brennan but, still, it could have gotten ugly. Those two really, really needed to spend a couple of weeks in bed so they could finally relax and communicate. Right now, they had each other wound up so tightly that any little thing was liable to set either of them off and not in a good way. _Oh, yeah, they definitely needed her help_.

"So you have a date with my son?" he grinned down at her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She chewed on her bottom lip and nodded, trying to gauge his reaction. Parker had told her that he had talked to his dad last night but wouldn't be calling him this morning for another couple of hours.

"Yes, Booth. He asked me to accompany him to the batting cages. He says that you may go with us if you will refrain from cramping his style," she grinned up at him, thrilled that she had remembered Parker's phrasing. He laughed and hugged her because she was so damned adorable and he was so damned relieved that the problem had been something so simple that he just couldn't help himself.

"My son is making time with my girl. I honestly have no idea what to say about that," Booth laughed until he saw Brennan's worried expression and realized she didn't know he was teasing her. "Hey," he told her softly, "I know you and Parker love each other and I love that," he assured her, tipping her chin up with one finger and dropping a soft kiss on her lips with the words but her continuing to gnaw on her lower lip had him stumped as to the cause of her continued anxiety. Angela didn't have any such problems, and she cursed silently, seeing the determination cross Brennan's face and knew that whatever was coming was no longer funny.

"Booth, Angela assures me that I have been dating Parker for approximately six months. Anthropologically speaking, a certain amount of rivalry between family members of the same sex is expected, even healthy, but I'm concerned that the adversarial, territorial issues likely to surface at any perceived change in our relationship would be detrimental to that family dynamic." Booth looked at Brennan in disbelief as she finished her little speech. She could not have just said what he had heard. He decided to confirm that she had, indeed, said what he had heard before he lost his cool but not here. They had provided Angela with enough entertainment for a lifetime and this was serious and as personal as it got. Shooting Angela a fulminating glare that thanked her a lot for getting Brennan all worked up about Parker, Booth grabbed Brennan's hand and stepped toward the door.

"Hey," Angela defended herself against the glare, "don't blame me. I sure as hell didn't see that one coming."

"Bye, Ange," Brennan managed as Booth pulled her through the door and shut it just short of slamming behind them.

Angela flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. _How the hell had they gone from laughing about Brennan dating Parker to Brennan pretty much telling Booth that she couldn't be with him on the off chance that it screwed things up between him and his son? What the hell was wrong with those two? Were they the only people in the freaking world who couldn't see that they belonged together? Scratch that, was Brennan the lone person in the freaking world who couldn't see that they belonged together because Booth seemed to have finally caught on. _ Angela knew Brennan was scared of getting hurt, of making a mistake and she was grasping at straws but she had picked a freaking bad one to focus on. If today didn't go well with the three of them, it would just reinforce Brennan's idea that she would mess things up between Booth and Parker and there would be no hope of moving her from her position then. She would take herself out of their lives entirely rather than cause problems between father and son. Angela could only pray that Booth realized that and was able to handle the situation so that none of them were scarred for life. She was also beginning to think that maybe she was out of practice and should just stay out of this, let them work it out on their own. She certainly didn't seem to be helping much and she couldn't bear to be the cause of two such obvious soul mates not being with each other.

Booth sat back and looked at his partner and his son, standing together in the batting cage as Parker allowed Brennan to make sure his hat was well situated with barely an eye roll. With a few words of encouragement, Brennan left the cage and joined Booth on the bench outside, sitting far enough away from him that several people would have fit between them. With a sigh, he scooted over until he was plastered up against her side at the same time that Parker turned and looked at them over his shoulder. With a grin, Booth slid his arm around Brennan's shoulders and raised the other hand at his son. Parker's eyes narrowed as he took in Brennan's stiff countenance then he returned his dad's grin and turned back to hitting the balls starting to come toward him.

"Stop it, Booth. Parker can see," commanded Brennan, shrugging her shoulders to dislodge his arm.

"No," he replied easily, enjoying the flash of temper in her eyes. _She was getting riled?_ Good. Maybe then they could actually have this thing out rather than her refusing to talk about it and insisting they go straight from the hotel and pick up Parker this morning. Booth had been pleased with that suggestion but not when he saw that Brennan was doing her level best to avoid touching him or being touched by him in the presence of his son. They had all gone out to breakfast and Parker had been a little quiet and Booth had felt like a bug under a microscope a couple of times under his son's intense gaze, but he had simply been his usual loving self with the little boy and he thought things were going well.

Brennan didn't appear to share those sentiments. She was so natural and loving with Parker that it gave Booth the warm fuzzies but she had gotten stiffer and stiffer with him. At first, it had hurt his feelings a little but now it was just pissing him off and he had finally said the hell with trying to play to her sensibilities and started touching her whenever he wanted which, granted, was often. Always, actually but Parker had actually seemed to relax as the day wore on and she needed to see that he was an eight year old child who would adjust to their changing status. Even if Parker was angry or upset at first, Booth would not choose between the two most important people in his life. They both loved him and they loved each other. There was no choice involved. He just had to make Brennan see that.

"Your turn, Dad!" shouted Parker as his turn came to an end. With an extra squeeze that had Brennan stiffening and Booth's grin widening, Booth stood and grabbed his helmet, meeting Parker at the door of the cages and giving him a high five and a 'Good job, buddy'. Parker immediately took up Booth's position on the bench beside Brennan and Booth paused to see her smile down at him and smooth the sweat dampened curls back from his temples.

"That was a very impressive display, Parker," she told him firmly and Parker grinned as if that was the biggest compliment he'd ever received and Booth literally couldn't move. This was what he had been searching for his entire life. It was sitting in front of him five feet away he would not, could not, let this slip through his fingers. Finally noticing that they were both starting at him, Booth gave them both a wink and turned to hitting a few balls. He did some of his best thinking during mindless physical activities, he could only hope he would have an epiphany. With Brennan's current attitude, a miracle would be better but an epiphany would do.

"Bones, did you and my dad have a fight?" Brennan had to fight to tear her eyes away from Booth's fine form as he swung at ball after ball that came shooting toward him. The movement clearly showed the well developed muscles of his upper back and arms and the twisting motion drew her eyes back time and again to that tight little rear end.

"What?" Brennan asked in confusion, her eyes falling on Parker's face as she valiantly tamped down the memories of that impressive body being under her hands and lips.

"Did you and my dad have a fight?" he repeated patiently and Brennan's brows drew together in a frown.

"No, Parker, we didn't have a fight. Why would you think that?" It never dawned on her that this might be inappropriate subject matter for an eight year old and it never dawned on Parker that she might not answer his questions.

"You keep moving away from him when he touches you today. Usually when he touches you, you lean against him or at least smile, but you're not smiling today, Bones. Today you look tired and worried." Brennan looked at the little boy, not quite sure which issue to address first. She was always feeling her way with Parker and she was always terrified of messing up with him but together they seemed able to muddle their way through their conversations and had become very close so she had to give him and his observations the respect they deserved. So go with the easiest one first.

"I guess I am a little tired and worried today, Parker," she admitted, thought she had no intention of getting into why she was either one.

"Did my dad do something?" asked Parker on a sigh as if he were the father dealing with an oft disorderly child and Brennan turned aside to hide her grin.

"Not really, Parker. It's personal." And that's all it took. Despite their openness with each other, they had some pretty well defined boundaries about their chats. Granted, most had been established by Booth but, still, they honored them even when they were alone.

"Do you have a new boyfriend?" Parker's eyes rounded in horror that Brennan missed because she had sneaked a peek at Booth who was still swinging away and got lost in the sheer beauty and strength he displayed so openly. Brennan finally looked back down to find Parker insistently tugging on her arm. "Do you have a new boyfriend?" he repeated in a tone he had never used with her before and she was too surprised by the tone and the question to prevaricate or declare it off limits. Not that she would have done the second when she saw the look of absolute rage Parker threw at his father. _Oh, crap, this was going to be even worse than she had predicted. She had to try to salvage this situation._ _She could not, would not cause problems between these two people who were almost her entire world._

"Parker, your father and I are friends and partners only," she assured the little boy who had scooted down the bench until he wasn't touching her and now sat back stiffly, his arms crossed over his chest, glaring straight ahead which just happened to be directly at his father.

"Yeah, I know. I've heard it all before," Brennan stiffened a little at the sarcasm. Parker was a sweet child and he had never been like this with her before but he sounded just like Booth in one of his snits. It would have been cute if she didn't feel so anxious and abandoned by his closed, distancing behavior.

"Parker, I'm not sure what the correct thing to say is right now so I need you to help me out here," she urged. "Please, Parker," she added softly, scooting closer.

"How could you get another boyfriend?" he rounded on her, tears shining in his eyes and Brennan felt the sting of tears in her own. At that instant, she almost sagged in relief as Booth's hand came down on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Without conscious thought, her hand flew up to cover his and squeeze it back.

"Parker, you know better than to talk to Bones like that. Apologize, now." Booth demanded giving his sullen son a stern look. Parker shot his father a fulminating glare and closed his lips mutinously. With narrowed eyes, Booth started toward the little boy but Brennan shot to her feet and dragged Booth several feet away from the bench where Parker sat, studiously avoiding looking at them.

"I'm sorry, Booth. I was afraid he would be upset but I failed to consider this degree of resistance," Brennan rushed out, her voice thick with unshed tears and Booth simply drew her against him for a tight hug. Brennan wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him and sob out her pain at Parker's reaction and she really wanted him to just hold her and tell her everything would be all right which just didn't seem possible at the moment but if Booth told her that she would believe it. Instead, she pushed out of Booth's arms and stepped far enough away that they weren't touching at all, mindful of Parker being nearby. "He's very upset, Booth. You should talk to him and I should go." She told him calmly, telling herself she could fall apart when she was alone. It wouldn't do any of them a bit of good for it to happen now.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for, Bones. None of this is your fault and whatever is behind Parker's little snit, we'll work it out. All of us. Together. If you really want to go home, we'll take you but why don't you take your turn at bat and let me talk to Parker, then we'll see what the rest of the day looks like? Please?" If it hadn't been for the please, she would have been able to just be on her way but he knew exactly how to play her so she nodded and reluctantly headed toward the batting cage, casting unconsciously pleading glances in Parker's direction as she did so. With a sigh, Booth also looked at his son and saw not just the anger but the absolute dejection under the little boy's bravado and that just wasn't like Parker to get so upset about anything.

"What's going on, Parker?" Booth almost laughed at his own blunt question as he sat down beside his son. He had desperately tried to guide Brennan to be less blunt during her early dealings with his son but to his surprise, her method of dealing with Parker had proved to be very effective and he had found himself being the one to adapt. Parker barely spared him a glance and certainly didn't give him an answer. "Parker." Booth placed his hand on Parker's shoulder and his voice held a clear warning now. And Parker responded, he turned on his father in fury.

"Why didn't you do something, Dad? How could you just hand her over to someone else?" he yelled, shoving against Booth's side with surprising strength for a pissed off eight year old. Booth knew he should scold Parker for his actions but he found his words far too interesting to worry about that at the moment. _Interesting as in what the hell was he talking about?_

"Whoa," Booth caught Parker's arm as he slid off the bench and turned to storm off. Turning the little boy to face him, Booth tilted his chin up and looked him in the eye. "Why don't you tell me what this is all about, buddy?" Booth thought he was going to refuse to answer for a second then his little chin began to quiver and he let loose.

"Bones is _ours_, Dad. _OURS!_" he wailed, his eyes filling with tears. "She belongs to us but Max said that if you weren't careful you were just going to hand her over to someone else. Cam said you weren't that stupid but Hodgins and Angela think you just might be so I asked Cam what it meant and she explained to me about boyfriends and girlfriends. I asked you if Bones was your girlfriend and you always say no and I got scared that you would give her away. I don't want you to give her away, Dad, so I got her for us until you came to your senses." This last was said with such attitude that Booth could actually hear Angela's voice saying it. The artist had said entirely too much around his very impressionable son, apparently they all had but Booth would worry about that later. Parker wasn't quite finished with his little tirade. "How could you give her away, Dad? Don't you love her anymore?" he whispered as his voice broke and the tears started streaking down his cheeks. "I still love her, Dad, and I want to keep her. Please don't give her away," he cried, throwing himself into his father's open arms and sobbing onto his shoulder.

Pulling Parker into his lap, Booth hugged him tightly and made soft shushing noises that only crying people understood. He had known that Parker loved Brennan and liked to be with her but he'd had no real idea that he had harbored the apparently burning desire for them to be together. Or that he had thought Booth didn't want her and would simply hand her over to someone else. Granted, most of those thoughts seemed to have been planted in his mind at the lab, but you had to wonder just what she thought if so many other people had clearly drawn the same conclusions from his actions. Had she thought that? That he simply didn't want to be with her? Yes, he had to admit, she couldn't have thought otherwise because he had gone out of his way to convince her of it. He honestly thought they were past that but he couldn't help but wonder as he held his quieting son in his arms. After so long of thinking that, how long would it take him to convince her that he was serious about them now? Shrugging mentally, he decided it didn't matter. He had the rest of his life to devote to that endeavor and he would be thrilled to show her how serious he was about her every day for the rest of that life.

"I would never give Bones away, Parker," he told his snubbing son quietly and had to dodge Parker's head as it shot off his shoulder and his son looked at him suspiciously. Wiping the tears off those baby soft cheeks, Booth nodded. "She does belong to us, Parker. She belongs _with_ us and when she's ready for that then we'll be here. We're not going anywhere and neither is she."

"Can we keep her forever, Dad?"

"Yeah, Parker. I definitely want to keep her forever."

"But, Dad, she has a boyfriend now," Parker wailed as if Booth had missed out on what had brought on the temper tantrum in the first place. Booth couldn't hold back his satisfied grin at his son's words. _So Brennan had acknowledged that she had a boyfriend, huh? That was some progress, at least._

"I think she was talking about me, buddy," he grinned. Parker pulled back and looked at him in a look very reminiscent of Bones' best _You'd better not be lying to me Seeley Booth _look. _Damn, his son was spending too much time with the squints._

"You think she was talking about you or she was talking about you?" _Oh, yeah, Parker was spending way too much time with the squints._

"I'm sure she was talking about me, Parker," Booth assured his doubting son. "Now, I think you owe Bones an apology and an explanation. Don't you?" he queried, holding the little boys eyes. Sighing manfully, Parker nodded and scrambled off of Booth's lap, looking around.

"Where is she, Dad?" demanded Parker, eying the empty batting cage and turning to Booth like he had purposely hidden Brennan away. Booth looked around a little wildly, his first thought that she had slipped out while he was occupied with his son and run again. That was a damn bad habit she was getting into and they were going to have to talk about that. His mental tirade stopped as he spotted her slowly making her way to turn in their equipment. Obviously her turn at bat had ended while he was occupied and she had given them some time and privacy but she hadn't run which was a lot, considering the circumstances. Standing, Booth extended his hand to Parker.

"Where are we going, Dad?"

"We're going to get our girl, Parker," Booth replied, pointing in Brennan's direction. With a war whoop that had head's turning all over the place, Parker grabbed Booth's hand and headed toward the unsuspecting anthropologist, towing his grinning father in his wake.

"Bones!" Parker yelled at the top of his lungs when they were still about fifteen feet away, just as she turned away from the equipment return window. She stiffened as if preparing herself for an attack and turned toward the little boy, who dropped Booth's hand and ran toward Brennan with his arms outstretched. Brennan automatically squatted down to his level and he almost took them both to the ground as he threw himself into her waiting arms enthusiastically. "I'm sorry I was mean to you, Bones. I thought you had another boyfriend besides me and Daddy. But it's ok now cause my dad says that you belong to us and we're keeping you for always." Booth winced at Parkers words as Brennan's eyes met his over his sons shoulder and her eyebrow rose at the phrasing. He did note that Brennan was squeezing Parker tightly and her eyes were glassy with tears. "I love you, Bones," Parker offered with a soft kiss to her cheek.

"I love you, too, Parker," she returned the words and the kiss and Booth could tell this wasn't the first time they had said the words to each other. _How in the world had he missed this?_ He wasn't sure but maybe it was a good thing that he hadn't been there to interfere. They had obviously found their way with each other and he couldn't be more pleased by their love for each other. There was just one thing missing from the moment and he could fix that. Extending a hand, he helped Brennan to her feet and pulled her around the side of the building.

"What are you doing, Booth?" she demanded as he crowded her back against the building.

"I need to tell you something, Bones. This might not be the right time or place but I can't wait any longer to say it." She looked at him like he had lost his mind as he leaned closer but his heart told him there would never be a more perfect time for him to say the words that he had been so afraid to put out there. "I love you, Bones." Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened as he softly stroked her cheek and his forehead came to rest against hers. "And Parker was right, you're stuck with us now because we're keeping you."

Brennan couldn't breathe as Booth cupped her face in his hands and tilted it toward his descending lips. She couldn't believe he had told her he loved her while he had her backed up against the equipment shack at the batting cages. No, actually what she couldn't believe was that he had uttered the words at all. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and return the sentiment but something held her back. She honestly had no idea what. She just knew she was mentally and physically exhausted and she needed to process everything that had happened in the last couple of days. Acting on impulse had gotten them into a very bad place and she was terrified of going back there. Practically chewing off her own tongue to keep the words from escaping, Brennan allowed her eyes to meet Booths, expecting him to be upset, at the very least but he simply gave her a soft, understanding smile.

"Are you going to kiss her, Dad?" asked Parker with interest. Brennan gasped and started pushing against Booth's chest having forgotten about the little boys presence.

"I'm thinking about it, Parker. What would you say to that?" Booth drawled, holding Brennan's eyes, wanting her to see that Parker was not a detriment to them being together but Booth wasn't quite prepared for Parker's answer.

"Well, Dad, I'd have to say it's about freaking time," the little boy returned earnestly and Booth felt the laughter bubbling up within him as Brennan snorted in his face and began to giggle. Booth had no idea which one of the squints that comment had come from but it didn't sound like something the eight year old would come up with on his own. His son was learning way too much from the squints and he was going to have to do something about it but not today. Today he was going to spend with the two people he loved most in the world. Pressing a quick kiss against Brennan's laughing mouth, Booth's eyes told her they would pick this up later. Hers told him she would think about it. Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he urged the still giggling scientist away from the building and turned her in the direction of the parking lot. Parker immediately moved to her other side and took her hand. Booth looked down at the two of them and came to a stunning realization. He had asked for an epiphany today to help guide him with Brennan or, barring that, a miracle. God must surely love him because he had actually gotten both, the epiphany that Parker was all for him and Brennan being together and the miracle was that after that little scene and him telling Brennan he loved her, she wasn't running for the hills.


	31. Chapter 31

**This one is actually going better than expected so I hope you guys enjoy and this is not the last chapter. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

It had been four days since the batting cages, four days since Booth had told her he loved her and she had been able to think about almost nothing else. Even when they had been called out on a case in the middle of dinner that night that wound up keeping them out all night, most of her mind had been on Booth declaring his feelings, how that made her feel and what she was going to do about it.

She hadn't come to any conclusions that night as she and her team ended up excavating two bodies from a dump site just outside the city. Well, no real conclusions but she had watched Booth closely and noticed how closely he watched her. His eyes followed wherever she went, he was always by her side, always ready with whatever she needed, reaching out to help her and just touch her so often that she blushed and looked around to see who was noticing. Her first shock of the night was that no one was paying the least little bit of attention to them. That could only lead her to believe her that Booth wasn't exhibiting an abnormal amount of touching, she was just feeling self conscious about it. But when had all the touching come about in first place? She honestly didn't know but she filed it away for future reference.

Her second shock of the night came when she barely had to give any instructions to the recovery team. Instead of barking out orders in her usual manner, she had stood back and watched Booth work, amazed that he, without any scientific background, knew so specifically exactly what she required. She had always known he was intelligent but she was almost awed by him that night. They had accompanied the bodies back to the lab and gone to her office. He had headed for the sofa and she had grabbed her lab coat. Her third shock had come when he calmly removed it from her hands and steered her toward the sofa.

"Booth, I need to examine the bodies," she had protested.

"No," he had returned simply, pulling her down onto the sofa and settling her against his chest, lying in front of him.

"Booth, let me up," she had pushed against his arm.

"No. How long has it been since you got some sleep, Bones? It won't do us any good for you to examine the bodies if you're so tired you miss something. Now, be still and go to sleep. I'm tired, too," he had yawned against her ear, dropping a kiss on her neck and pulling the afghan she kept on the back of the couch over them. Brennan had stiffened in insult that he thought she could miss something but she had to admit that she had been without sleep long enough for it to be an issue.

"What if someone sees us?" she had demanded. His laugh rumbled against her back.

"Do you really care? And do you really think anyone will be surprised?" The answer to both questions was an emphatic no so she closed her eyes and was asleep almost instantly.

Several hours later, after a quick shower in the decontamination room, she had joined the squints on the platform but Booth hadn't been there. He had shown up shortly thereafter and eyed her still damp hair and change of clothing with so much interest that Brennan felt herself blushing. Frantically looking around, she saw that, once again, no one noticed that he was undressing her with his eyes. Had he truly been doing that so long that no one even noticed anymore? The only logical answer was that yes he had. _Interesting._

They had a break in the case that afternoon requiring that they visit a real, live house of ill repute. Brennan was excited and curious even when she found out that Sweets would be accompanying them, despite Booth's protests that they would have to arrest themselves for corrupting the morals of a minor if they took Sweets with them. Brennan did mention to Booth that he should try to keep the touching and dirty looks to a minimum around Sweets and been completely unprepared for Booth's response. He laughed in her face.

"What's so funny?" she demanded through clenched teeth. Pulling into a parking spot to wait on Sweets, Booth leaned down until they were nose to nose.

"You do your fair share of looking and touching, too, Bones," he practically purred and laughed again when she gasped in outrage at his outlandish suggestion.

"What? I do not!"

"Yes, you do and, for the record, I never said I minded. In fact, you can touch me anytime and pretty much anywhere you like," he bent down and gave her a quick, hard kiss, straightening as Sweets approached the car and tapping Brennan's mouth closed with a finger under her chin. Brennan fumed over his words all the way to their destination, knowing he had to be incorrect. She would know if she was undressing Booth with her eyes or touching him all the time like he did her. _Wouldn't she? _

Deciding to prove Booth wrong, she decided to use Sweets to do it. It shouldn't be that hard, after all. All she had to do was keep her physical distance from Booth and not look at him like she wanted to see him naked again. She could do that. _Right?_ Apparently not, she decided three hours later. She had started out doing exactly as she had planned and noticed Sweets looking at her in a very concerned manner with his _uh, oh, this partnership is in trouble_ look on. Experimentally, she had moved closer to Booth and laid a hand on his forearm. Sweets had instantly relaxed and started smiling. Repeating this process had netted the same results across the board so she knew when she looked up to find Sweets looking at her so approvingly it meant she either had her hands on Booth or was looking at him inappropriately and, sure enough, she was. Every freaking time. And it didn't take Booth long to figure out what she was doing so then she was dealing with his amusement as well as her absolute failure to maintain a professional demeanor at a crime scene. This whorehouse wasn't turning out to be nearly as much fun as she had expected.

All this she could have dealt with, she told herself resolutely. She had a harder time with the fact that Booth accidently, or so he said, grabbed her ass when she was walking up the stairs ahead of him right in front of Sweets' face and the kid never even noticed. Yes, it was true that someone had stumbled into her and pushed her backward but what was his hand doing there in the first place? Deciding to accept his version of events, even thought he had taken much longer than absolutely necessary to right her position and remove his hands from her person, she was still forced to admit to the sad fact that they had apparently been groping each other inappropriately in public for so long that no one noticed that anymore, either. Brennan was starting to wonder if anyone would notice if they stripped down and had sex on the platform in the middle of the day and she was just about horny enough to put her theory to the test.

By the time they returned to the Jeffersonian, the second set of remains was ready for Brennan and she hustled to her office, grabbed her lab coat and got to work, with Booth right behind her peppering her with questions she didn't have answers for yet. She vaguely noticed when he went away an hour or so later. She definitely noticed when he showed up at 9 PM with takeout. She took a quick break to eat and was proud of the both of them for seemingly falling back into their old routine but when she got up to go back to work, Booth grabbed her arm and dragged her to her office, firmly closing and locking the door and Brennan began to doubt things were going to stay purely professional.

"What are you doing, Booth?" she questioned as he backed her toward the sofa.

"I have to go back to the Hoover. I'll probably be there all night and I want my goodnight kiss before I go," he explained patiently as he kept walking forward until she was brought up short against the arm of the sofa. She stopped but he took two more steps, pressing himself flush against her.

"Booth, we shouldn't be doing this here," she told him virtuously, already lifting her mouth to his. He didn't bother to answer, pulling her closer and bending to claim her mouth in a thoroughly possessive kiss. His mouth slanted over hers, hot, hard and demanding. His tongue thrust inside her mouth to rub against hers. Brennan kissed him back but her usual level of enthusiasm was missing and the kiss ended far too soon to suit Booth.

"Come on, Baby," he teased with a grin, resting his forehead against hers, "kiss me like you mean it."

"We're at work, Booth," she said in exasperation.

"Ah, I see," he said in a superior voice that he knew would get to her, stepping back and starting to turn away.

"What do you see?" she asked suspiciously, grabbing his arm and holding him still while she looked into his twinkling eyes.

"No, it's ok. I understand. People get performance anxiety during all kinds of situations, so…," his words were cut off as she grabbed his face between her hands and pulled his mouth back to hers and Booth learned a valuable lesson. Never, ever taunt Brennan about her ability to do something well unless you were prepared for the consequences. He was not.

Brennan kissed him, her mouth just as possessive and demanding as his had been. All rational thought fled as her tongue darted out to take long, leisurely licks of his lips before pushing aggressively into his mouth and tangling with his. One arm encircled his neck to pull him closer even though the thought of him going somewhere else was ludicrous. And God what she did with that other hand, scraping her nails over his chest, down over his abs that were clenched so tightly he could barely breathe and then moving lower so slowly that he wanted to beg her to touch him, to stroke his hard cock and give him some relief from the ever present ache when he was around her. And then she was touching him. His eyes slammed shut and he moaned into her mouth as her hand curved around his hardness and began to lightly stroke him.

Brennan had meant to show Booth that she didn't have performance anxiety about kissing him. She could do that and do it well anywhere, it just felt a little odd to be doing it here at the office but he had challenged her and she'd just had to take him up on it. She had meant to tease him and teach him a lesson at the same time but she was the one who learned something. She learned that the taste and feel of Booth's mouth sent heat fluttering through her belly to settle low between her thighs in a tight, aching throb that was only heightened by the sounds of arousal coming from his throat as he avidly participated in the kiss she had initiated. She learned that the feel of his big, rough hands cupping her breasts and rubbing the turgid nipples felt even better than she remembered and she wanted him to be doing it without anything separating his flesh from hers. She learned that his hand moving between her trembling thighs and stroking her intimately through layers of clothing brought her to the verge of orgasm faster than actual sex with any other man ever had.

Booth almost whimpered in distress when Brennan released his cock then held his breath when her hand moved to his zipper. _Did he want her to do that?_ Oh, yeah, he wanted her to do that but he knew that the feeling of those magic fingers on his hard on would probably result in him coming in her hand and he didn't really want that so he placed his hand over hers and gently moved it away. Sliding his tongue languidly in and out of her mouth, he raised one of her legs up over his hip and tilted her bottom until her hot center was pressing against his hard erection. Thrusting his hardness against her as he pulled her roughly against him, just as he would wanted to be doing without clothing in the way and they would be doing that very, very soon right here in her office, if she didn't do something about it Brennan realized. God, she really, really wanted to but they had waited so long that they deserved their first time to be more than this. Even believing that completely, it took some time for Brennan to convince her body and force herself to let go of Booth.

Long, long minutes later, Brennan released Booth's mouth which was good because Booth couldn't have pulled back from her if his life had depended on it. Almost panting for breath, he rested his forehead on her shoulder and shuddered in her arms as his hands contracted almost bruisingly on her hips to stop her movements against his aching hardness.

"I have to get out of here," he muttered against her neck. She felt beautiful and powerful and sexy and she gloried in it, loving knowing that she could make such a powerful, sexy man tremble in her arms.

"Do you want to stay?" she asked and his eyes narrowed at her tone of voice rather than the question. Raising his head, he met sparkling blue eyes, the eyes of a temptress who knew she had her man just where she wanted him.

"Are you inviting me into your bed, Bones?" he asked softly and saw her eyes flicker with what he thought was an instant of doubt and silently cursed himself for not just answering her question. _God, yes he wanted to stay._ Badly.

"I don't have a bed here, Booth," she reminded him ducking her head, trying to hide the grin that curved her mouth but he caught it and stiffened, tilting her face back up so he could see her eyes.

"Are you messing with me, Bones?" he asked with a raised brow. Her eyes flew to his, hugely innocent and she actually fluttered her lashes at him. _Well, that answered that question._ Hell yes, she was messing with him and doing a damn fine job of it, too. But he couldn't really be mad as he had instigated it and they had both enjoyed it tremendously but she needed to know that if she started playing games then the rules changed. Bones was very big on knowing and following the rules and this little game was sure to be a lot of fun for both of them. "You know, Baby, you should really be careful who you mess with," he cautioned.

"Why?" she teased and he was captivated by her sparkling eyes.

"Because they just might mess back," he breathed into her mouth, once again becoming the aggressor. The next thing Brennan knew, she was sitting astride Booth's lap on the sofa and one of his hands was swiftly unbuttoning her blouse while the other gripped the back of her head and held her still while his mouth ate at hers. She was sitting squarely atop his hard on and he was rhythmically pushing his hips up against her.

"Booth," she moaned against his lips as his hand slipped beneath her blouse and his thumb unerringly found her distended nipple, rubbing it firmly then flicking it with his nail a little more roughly. She gasped and arched into his hand, grinding her hot, moist center against his aching erection. Groaning against her mouth, Booth's hand left the back of her head and moved to her hip, urging her to move harder and faster against him, shuddering at the drag of the material of his boxers on his sensitive flesh.

"If you don't want to do this right here and now, we need to stop," he warned, his voice low and strained just as the door to her office rattled as if someone had crashed into it.

"Um, sorry, Dr. Brennan, but Cam and Hodgins need you right now," Wendell said clearly and Booth felt like laughing hysterically. He could not believe they had gotten interrupted NOW. _Dammit, couldn't they have ten minutes alone around this place?_ Maybe Brennan was right about work not being the place for this. God, he was so hot right now he would settle for five minutes in the bathroom but it looked like that wasn't going to happen either. It was time to get back to work.

"I'll be right there, Wendell," Brennan called out, her voice surprisingly clear and firm.

Running his eyes over the luscious flesh he had so recently uncovered, Booth regretfully withdrew his hand from Brennan's breast and slowly rebuttoned her shirt. She was doing the same thing to a shirt he hadn't even realized she had unbuttoned. Regrettably her hands hadn't made it onto flesh before the interruption. Booth's breath hissed out between his teeth and his hands flew to her hips when Brennan began to shift on his lap. She met his eyes almost shyly and bit her lower lip.

"I'm sorry, Booth. I didn't mean to…," she gestured to his lap and actually blushed. Booth laughed and hugged her.

"Yes, you did, but that's all right. I started it and I've already told you, you can have your wicked way with me any time," he assured her, pulling her head down to give her what was meant to be a swift kiss. He knew it was a mistake the instant his lips touched hers. Maybe not so much a mistake as a wonderful freaking idea, his body was screaming and he seemed to have no control of the hands that burrowed under clothing. Slipping open the front clasp of a bra and cupping a luscious mound of soft, warm flesh, he tweaked a nipple. He desperately wanted to see his hands on her body but he didn't want to stop touching her to get her clothes out of the way and the hand slipping down the front of her pants refused to stop long enough to unbutton her shirt.

"Oh, God, Booth, please don't stop," Brennan moaned into his ear just as his fingers glided across her slippery flesh. She locked her hands behind his head and her head fell back as her hips rocked up toward his hand and he didn't have a hope in hell of stopping. This might not be the way he had envisioned their first time but he just couldn't wait any longer and apparently neither could she.

"I love you, Bones," he whispered before pulling her head down for a deep, wet, tongue thrusting kiss that had both of them moaning and straining toward each other. Rolling her underneath him on the couch, he released every last thread of restraint and gave himself permission to just feel as he turned back to the woman looking up at him with the eyes of a seductress. He had no idea how much later Cams voice came through the office door but he moaned against Brennan's throat as Cam called her name the second time.

"I'm coming," Brennan snapped and Booth couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Not quite, but pretty damn close," he muttered, helping her to straighten her clothes and then turning to his own very wrinkled attire. "Come on, Baby. Time to go back to work," he said standing and extending a hand to her, "the sooner you figure this out, the sooner we can go home." Brennan blinked up at him a couple of times then took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Talk like that would definitely get him her best work and pretty much anything else he wanted.

"Bones," Booth whined, coming into her office and letting the door swing shut behind him, giving her a puppy dog look, "are you coming sometime today?"

Brennan's eyes narrowed as she stood up from her chair, but there was a smile on her face which got bigger as she approached Booth. She had been waiting for this opportunity all day long and he had just given her the perfect opening. She had actually promised herself she would hold out until quitting time but shrugged off that pesky little detail. They had both waited long enough for this. She had calmly, rationally evaluated the evidence and come to some not very surprising conclusions.

Booth turned her on more than any man ever had and, she was certain, more than any other man ever would. He was everything she could ever want in a best friend and partner and she wanted him to be that and more for the rest of her life. She loved everything about him and she knew that he loved her, too. She had been certain of that the instant the words were out of his mouth. Oddly enough, it was the feelings of absolute devastation she had experienced when she had thought Parker was opposing their change in status that had convinced her that she had to take a chance on this, she just had been afraid to do anything about it at that precise moment. Then this case had turned their lives and the lab upside down, giving them precious little private time over the last days. And she had stupidly demanded that he stop pulling her off into dark rooms and closets to kiss her senseless every chance he got because Wendell had almost walked in on them grappling on the couch. She had demanded a hands off policy at work and he had grudgingly complied, reverting back to their previous relationship as if it didn't even bother him to not touch her. But that had been three days ago and the case had been solved this afternoon. They needed to finish up the paperwork but they needed this much, much worse. At least she did, she hoped he did, too.

Booth looked at that sexy smile and swallowed hard, it was not a look he had ever seen his partner direct at him before, not even with the way things had changed between them lately. Sure, he'd seen that "hungry woman on the prowl" look directed his way enough to easily identify it, just never coming from Bones and that look from this woman packed a hell of a punch. Her blue eyes were dark and smoky as they brazenly ran up and down his body, stripping him with her eyes and those same eyes told him pretty explicitly what she wanted to be doing to him. His gut clenched hard and he couldn't look away as her tongue darted out to lick her lips. His eyes helplessly followed the tip of that little pink tongue and his body began to vibrate with a feral growl of longing that he valiantly fought back, but one more look into her eyes told him she knew exactly what she was doing to him and she liked it.

Brennan invaded Booth's personal space and he backed up until he was against the wall with her chest lightly pressed against his, wondering what the hell she was up to. She had been the one to demand he keep his hands off of her at the office but if she didn't back off and quickly, he would have a hell of a lot more than his hands all over her and he didn't much care where they were.

Going up on tiptoe, she whispered, "I don't know, Booth, that's kind of up to you," teasingly nipping at his earlobe. Booth's eyes involuntarily closed at her breath puffing against his ear, but popped open at her teeth on his earlobe. His hands fisted at his sides as her tongue darted out to swirl around the shell of his ear. Instantly aroused, his entire body vibrated with the growl that came from deep within his throat and she laughed huskily, leaning in closely enough for him to feel her hardened nipples grazing his chest and nip his ear again. God, please don't let her be kidding was the only coherent thought in his mind and he couldn't stop the shudder that worked down his spine or the way his hips shifted forward to find the cradle of those sweet, warm thighs. Fortunately for them both, just as his hands reached for her hips, two giggling interns walked past the door and Booth retained just enough brain cells to recall where they were.

Grabbing Brennan's arms, he forced her back before he just gave her what she was obviously asking for. Right on top of her desk, or the floor or the couch. He was past the point of caring about where they made love and was fast approaching not caring if it was with the door to her office open with a full complement of staff wandering around outside. He hadn't touched her in days and his body was starved for the touch, taste and feel of her. _God, she was killing him,_ he acknowledged as she strained forward and swiped at the line of sweat above his upper lip with the tip of her tongue.

"Bones, what are you doing?" his voice was husky, but even forming words right now was difficult. He wanted to remind her about the rules changing when she started to play with him but he couldn't catch his breath or hold a thought long enough. Every sense he had was focused on containing his response to this woman's nearness enough not to turn into a rutting beast, which is exactly what he felt like at the moment.

Reaching up with both hands, she started at the back of his shirt collar, straightening it primly while making sure to scrape the sensitive skin on the back of his neck with her nails. His breath hissed out and his jaw tightened but he held those sexy, sultry eyes and she smiled at him so suggestively that the urge to grab her and do all kinds of delicious things to that perfect body she was flaunting in that tight skirt and low cut top was almost overwhelming. He was so hard he hurt, almost shaking with desire. He wanted to push her onto her knees in front of him and demand she do something about it. Almost as much as he wanted to strip her naked and bury himself inside her over and over again until neither of them could move. Still smiling, she reached out and ran a single finger down his tie, from his shirt collar to the bottom, stopping just inches above his belt buckle.

Looking into her eyes, his attention was focused on that finger and its next destination, his breath caught in his throat. _Would she or wouldn't she?_ The wicked look in her eyes said she was completely unpredictable at the moment and, damn, if that didn't turn him on even more than knowing exactly what happened to her body and his when they started touching each other. Smiling sexily into his eyes, her finger ran down to his belt buckle, hovering.

"You're an FBI Agent, Booth, figure it out," Booth shivered at the words, his teeth clenched tight with the effort to keep from reaching for her. If she didn't step back soon, they were both going to be very, very embarrassed.

Tapping his belt buckle, she spun around, heading out of the office. Booth almost sagged in relief and his eyes fell onto her swaying ass. She was deliberately putting an extra little bounce in each step because she knew it drove him nuts and he just knew the short, tight skirt and low cut blouse had been chosen with him in mind. She'd had seducing him on her mind when she ran home to shower and change that morning. _How about that?_

_What the hell had just happened here?_ he asked himself. He needed to be sure he was reading the situation correctly. Granted, the signals she had just sent him were pretty hard to misinterpret but they'd had so many misunderstandings lately that he could not mess this one up.

_Had the woman of his dreams just propositioned him? Unless he was sadly mistaken, yes, she had_. _So, Bones wanted to play, did she? He had wanted to play forever_. But was she inviting him into her bed and into her life in the role he wanted to have or was she just eager to relieve the sexual tension between them? He had to admit that he was so eager to be in her bed that he really didn't care. He needed this in a way that had become almost embarrassingly painful over the last few weeks. No, _they_ needed this and he had a feeling that when they finally made each other as crazy in bed as they did out of it that things would settle down and maybe, please God, go a little easier for the two of them.

Grinning, he made a decision, mentally rescheduling everything he had on the calendar for tomorrow. He knew there was no way he would be pulling himself out of bed and going to work. Not if tonight turned out even remotely close to what he had in mind.

_Oh, yeah, game on._

So, get ready.

Get set.

GO!


	32. Chapter 32

Musie is in a very happy, playful mood today and I hope you all enjoy her efforts. Let me know what you think. Thanks, T.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Brennan finished on the platform in minutes and headed to Limbo, not even glancing at her office, not wanting Booth to know how anxious she was about declaring herself in a place she had put off limits. Granted, she hadn't meant to do that. She had meant to ask him to dinner at her apartment and attack him the second the door closed behind them she admitted to herself but, hey, it wasn't her fault he was so damn sexy she had just been unable to wait. Booth stood in her office door and watched her stride away with narrowed eyes, still waiting to cool off enough for it to be safe to get up close and personal enough with the anthropologist to give her his response to the earlier scene in her office.

"So, Booth, I take it you and Bren worked out the whole dating Parker issue?" Angela asked laughingly as she approached from the side. Booth's eyes never left Brennan but his expression became irritated.

"Bones, Parker and I are fine, Angela. But I'm going to have to have a little talk with all of the squints about wagging tongues in front of little boys." Booth finally turned a very disapproving expression on Angela as Brennan had turned the corner and he could no longer see her.

"Huh?"

"You people talk too much about me and Bones in front of my son, Angela," Booth growled and Angela laughed heartily.

"Booth, we talk about you and Bren in front of everyone but I'm sure no one said anything directly to Parker," she assured Booth nonchalantly, patting his arm and he knew he would get no sympathy or understanding from this instigator.

"Well, you should be more careful what you say because Parker sure as hell heard way too much," he growled irritably and Angela started to look concerned.

"I'm sorry, Booth. I'll let everyone know we need to be more careful when Parker's around," she offered and he decided that was acceptable for the moment.

"Thanks, Ange."

"So, how did you get Bren to take tomorrow off?" Angela questioned with a grin and a raised brow and Booth's grin returned. Here he had been wondering how mad she would be if he just told Cam not to expect her tomorrow and she had already taken care of that pesky little detail for them. He had just talked to Cullen and taken tomorrow off. He wanted to take the rest of the day today because he knew he wouldn't be getting a lot of real work done considering where his thoughts were centered but he needed to get a couple of things out of the way and meet with Cullen. He couldn't leave yet or he sure as hell wouldn't still be standing here chatting with Angela, he would be spending his time in much more interesting ways.

"Not my doing, Angela," he told the artist easily but she could see he was pleased by the news. Booth leaned negligently on the doorframe of Brennan's office, his arms crossed over his chest and stared at the hall leading to Limbo with such concentration that Angela turned and squinted at the hallway when she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Turning back, she eyed Booth with speculation. She figured it wouldn't do her any good to ask but it really couldn't hurt anything and she was getting mighty curious about what the hell he was doing just standing around after Brennan had practically jumped him in her office. She was certain the FBI agent was worldly enough to understand what that meant but she had learned that with these two it didn't pay to take anything for granted.

"What are you doing, Booth?" she queried suspiciously, gesturing between his relaxed countenance and the hallway leading to Limbo.

"I don't know what you mean, Angela." Booth sent her such a look of choir boy innocence that she instantly knew he was messing with her. She just didn't know why but she would bite.

"I mean, Booth, that Bren had you practically foaming at the mouth not more than 10 minutes ago and now she's down in limbo working away and you're just standing around as if nothing has changed. I just do not get you, Seeley Booth," Angela threw her arms in the air and her voice began to rise as her confusion and frustration with what she saw as completely inexplicable behavior on the part of both Booth and Brennan rose. "I know that Brennan is a little naïve but surely to God, Booth, you get that she was coming on to you in there. Right?" She demanded her hands coming to rest on her hips. Angela wasn't entirely sure why she was getting so upset unless it was just that she did not want to see things not go well for her best friend now that she had decided to move forward with her relationship with Booth.

Booth spared a glance at the narrow eyed artist who was now glaring at him for all she was worth and fought the urge to burst out laughing. He almost reassured her that yes, he did, in fact, possess the intelligence to ascertain that Brennan had been coming on to him. But just as he opened his mouth to do so, some little imp reminded him that Angela had expressed the opinion, in front of his son no less, that he was stupid enough to give Brennan away and he decided it wouldn't hurt to let her sweat things out for a couple of days. Swiping a hand down his face to hide his grin, he composed himself and turned a sufficiently confused look her way while still keeping an eye on who was coming and going from Limbo.

"Angela, I don't know what you think you saw in Bones' office but I can assure you that you're getting yourself all worked up over nothing. Can you really imagine Bones coming on to me in the office? That really just doesn't seem to be what she would consider acceptable behavior and you know how she feels about her professional reputation." Booth bit down on his lip to hide his grin. He hadn't told a single lie, he assured himself, he had only used a few diversionary tactics.

Angela's eyes widened at not only the sincerity of Booth's tone but she knew those words to be true. But that didn't make any sense. Brennan had admitted that she had come on to Booth and Angela knew a come on, and a man liking it when she saw one. _But why would he lie to her? _ He certainly hadn't tried to hide his pursuit of Brennan over the previous weekend and he knew she was on the side of them being together so his lying about it didn't make any sense either. _Oh, dear God,_ she thought, her eyes widening with horror at the possibility, _was it possible he could have misunderstood Brennan? _ Because she sure as hell thought she had propositioned him and she would be crushed and absolutely devastated if he ignored the gesture. _It wasn't possible he was that stupid_, Angela assured herself but she was getting a knot in the pit of her stomach just the same.

"Booth, what do you think Bren was doing in her office?" Angela's anxiety bled through in her voice and Booth began to feel bad that he was messing with her. Just as he opened his mouth to set the record straight he caught sight of the two people he had been waiting for coming down the hallway from Limbo. Angela was instantly forgotten as his mind focused on the woman who would now be in the big, scary rooms alone. He really should go down there and keep her company. It was the partnerly thing to do and he owed her an answer even though she hadn't technically asked a question. He silently cursed in frustration when one of the two grad students walking toward him halted, turned and headed back to limbo. Feeling a tug on his arm, he looked down to find Angela looking at him with panic flaring in her eyes. With a sigh, he decided it had been a little mean to mess with her and patted her arm reassuringly.

"Look, Ange, I really do appreciate all your help but I've got it from here," he assured her firmly.

"Booth, are you sure?" She queried, her voice still ridden with anxiety.

"Yes, Angela, I'm sure." Before he could offer further reassurances, the two grad students exited the hallway to Limbo and Booth straightened from his slouched position, purpose in every line of his body as he started toward the hallway himself.

"What do you think was going on in her office, Booth?" Angela was right beside him, trying to keep her voice down but she had to know she was wrong about this. Booth didn't slow down, he didn't even bother to look at her, intent on getting to his partner. Just as he answered, a side door of the lab opened and the noise level swelled, drowning out all but a few words of his answer but those few words stopped Angela in her tracks. _Clue, rules and games_. She was absolutely speechless, her jaw dropping to the floor. OH MY GOD. Brennan thought she had given Booth the go ahead on their personal relationship and Booth thought she wanted to play board games. _What should she do?_ She didn't know but she knew she had to do something because if Booth didn't take Brennan up on this one, she didn't think he would ever get another chance. If he messed this one up, she didn't think even she could fix It.

"You know, Bones, it's generally considered bad manners to get a guy all hot and bothered and then just take off on him." Brennan jumped as those soft words were whispered huskily in her ear.

She had come into Limbo a few minutes earlier and gone to the wall of storage units to get out the remains she had been working on identifying the last time thing were slow at the lab. She hadn't even heard Booth enter Limbo but she spun around to face him, eyeing him a little warily. He didn't look angry. In fact, he looked almost predatory as his eyes roamed over her possessively and he crowded her back against the wall of storage units, leaning over her and planting his hands firmly just above her head. She craned her neck trying to look around him and determine if there were any gaping grad students in the vicinity but he laughed against her ear.

"Relax. We're alone," he assured her, his breath tickling over the shell of her ear and her neck. Against her will, her eyes fluttered shut and her head tipped to the side as his teeth scraped the side of her neck. Moaning, she shuddered and reached for him, no longer caring who saw them. Her eyes flew open as her wrists were grabbed just as they made contact with his hard chest and they were suddenly pinned to the wall beside her head.

"Uh uh, Bones. No touching for you," he told her, raising his head and giving her an admonishing look.

"Why?" She whined petulantly in the tone of a five-year-old who was not getting their way. That impression was only compounded when she actually stamped her foot. Booth almost laughed but he preferred not to get a good, swift kick to the shins as punishment so he held it in.

"Because if you put your hands on me right now, I'll have you bent over one of these tables in 30 seconds flat. And I won't care where we are or what kind of rules you have about work," he told her huskily, all hints of laughter fleeing his face as his eyes blazed down at her, black and almost glowing with desire. His words were meant as a warning but she certainly didn't seem to take them that way. He smiled with a great deal of satisfaction as he saw her pupils dilate and heard that little hitch in her breathing that indicated she was just as turned on as he was. He stopped smiling and groaned when she arched her body away from the wall and rubbed seductively against him.

Brennan fought to maintain her hold on reality as Booth's words unleashed a plethora of erotic images to play through her head. Heat unfurled low in her belly and she fought for each breath as he used his big, hard body to push her back against the wall and hold her there, halting the brushes of her softness against his hardness. Whimpering in protest, her head dropped back against the wall and she looked up into his face wondering how he could be so calm when he so easily turned her into a complete wanton, who didn't think it sounded like a bad idea at all for them to have sex in limbo.

"Uh uh, Baby. I already told you, no touching for you. You had your turn in your office. It's my turn now. Fair is fair, and you believe in being fair, now don't you, Bones?" The only thing she believed at the moment was that she was going to disprove her own theory that spontaneous human combustion wasn't possible if he didn't take care of the throbbing ache invading every cell of her body that just his nearness could arouse and she would prefer that he do it sooner rather than later. She opened her mouth to ask him how he could be so calm just as his forehead came to rest against hers and she saw that he wasn't calm at all.

He was just as hot as she was, he was just better at hiding it, but this close, she could actually see sparks shooting through the ebony depths of his eyes. She could feel the fine sheen of sweat that had broken out on his forehead and see the one above his upper lip. And she could definitely feel his desire for her as he surged against her, pressing her back into the wall so tightly she almost couldn't breathe, but she didn't care. She reveled in it, gloried in it. It made her feel soft and feminine, weak and powerful at the same time. Laughing throatily, her eyes met his, daring him to do his worst.

This had been a very bad idea, Booth realized as her blue eyes sparkled up at him, bright and glassy with desire. He had meant to play with her a little just as she had done to him in her office but he should have heeded his own warning to stay away from her until he could drag her off somewhere private where they had no chance of interruptions because he had no intention of stopping when they started this time. He just didn't think he had it in him to pull back from the brink with her one more time and it had been stupid of him to want to torment her. Yes, he was accomplishing his goal but he was tormenting himself right along with her. Time to get the hell out of here while he still could.

Before he could put thoughts into action, Brennan reached up and caught his bottom lip with her teeth. Moaning, Booth fought to keep his grip on her wrists from becoming bruising but he couldn't fight the urge to nudge her thighs as far apart as possible in that skirt and step between them, bringing their bodies into even closer contact. He didn't even try to fight the urge to cover her mouth with his and kiss her with absolute intent. His tongue thrust heavily into her mouth as his body moved against her, telling her in no uncertain terms exactly what he wanted to be doing to her.

She gladly accepted and eagerly returned his kiss, her tongue rubbing against his, unable to stop the subtle shifting of her body under his seeking deeper, harder contact. When her lips closed around his tongue and she applied suction, Booth knew he had to stop or he wasn't going to. Wrenching his mouth from hers, he leaned heavily against her, feeling more than a little weak at the knees. He wanted to release her wrists and put his arms around her but knew what little remaining control he had would be toast the instant she put her hands on his body so he rested his forehead against hers. Feeling a primitive, male satisfaction that he was completely unfamiliar with, he watched as her eyelids fluttered and she looked at him. Her eyes were dazed, her mouth red and swollen from his kiss, her lips glinting moistly in the artificial light and her breathing was just as erratic as his. They were either going to satisfy each other totally or kill each other when he took her to bed tonight and he currently didn't even care which as long as he did get to take her to bed tonight.

"I thought you wanted to play, Booth," Brennan taunted, her desire for this man so sharp that her body was no longer hers to control. It wanted satisfaction and it wanted it now, overriding the brain that was frantically screaming that they couldn't, shouldn't do this here. Her body was asking why the hell not and, it appeared that her body was in control of her mouth. Booth looked down at her and understood her frustration perfectly. Hell, he felt like crying himself at the thought of walking away from her but he had to do it.

"I think I'll save my turn for somewhere a little more private and a lot more appropriate, Baby," he returned gently, nuzzling at her cheek but she stubbornly turned her head. Booth laughed softly against her ear and began to whisper in excruciating, erotic detail exactly what he had in mind for his turn until she was resting limply against him, panting and moaning at his words. Stopping several minutes later, he felt big and strong and powerful and so very male that he could do this to her. Releasing her wrists, he smiled when her arms never moved from their positions beside her head. Cupping her face in his hands, he tilted it up toward his. "Tonight isn't about your turn or my turn, Bones. Tonight is our turn." Brennan knew that on the surface the words were self explanatory but she felt an underlying current that told her whatever Booth was saying was important and she needed to pay attention.

"I don't know what that means," she admitted. He gave her a chiding look that said she knew exactly what he was saying, but didn't respond except to drop a quick kiss on her lips. So quick in fact that by the time she realized her hands were free and reached for him, he had released her as was turning to leave the room.

"I'll pick you up at five," he threw over his shoulder.

"Booth, I really don't know what that means," she called plaintively. She did but she wanted him to confirm it for her.

"You're a genius, Bones. Figure it out." his stride never faltered and he didn't look back or he knew he'd never make it out of the room. Besides, this was something she had to figure out on her own. If he hadn't convinced her already that he was in this for the long haul, all the talking in the world wasn't going to do it. Good thing he had every intention of showing her tonight.


	33. Chapter 33

**Here it is, guys. The chapter everyone has been screaming for. I hope I don't disappoint but please let me know either way. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Angela watched Booth walk nonchalantly out of the lab with narrowed eyes. He was just lucky that she had decided to handle this upsetting situation in a manner other than hitting him over the head with a heavy object which had been her first instinct. But no, she had decided to approach this in a more civilized manner. She had concluded that the only thing she could really do was take Brennan out for the afternoon and by the time they got back, she would be so tempting that Booth wouldn't be able to take his eyes or his hands off of her. And if that didn't work, there were plenty of heavy objects lying around and even a few flesh eating beetles if she got carried away and needed to hide a body. As Brennan's best friend, it was her duty and responsibility to make sure she got the man she wanted and, dammit, tonight Brennan was going to get her man.

"Hey, Sweetie," Angela called cheerfully as she entered Limbo. Brennan looked up at the perky greeting and couldn't help but smile back.

"Hello, Angela. You certainly seem to be in a good mood," she observed before turning back to her remains.

"Of course I'm in a good mood, Sweetie. It's a beautiful day. No one has been murdered today. That we know of," Angela added upon seeing the expression on Brennan's face. "And I just got a call from the spa that they'd had a cancellation for this afternoon and can take both of us. So put the bones away and let's get going." Angela had known it wouldn't be this easy but it had been worth a shot and she would be getting her way on this one. She just had to do it without telling Brennan why it was necessary which might get a little tricky but was by no means impossible.

"What? No, Angela. I don't have time to go to the spa with you today, I have to work." Brennan told her firmly, sure Angela would back off now. Until Angela crossed her arms over her chest and tapped a foot impatiently, raising a brow and just staring. "Ange, I don't want to," Brennan whined and Angela knew she would be giving in momentarily.

"Bren, you don't have anything urgent going on today. This guy had been dead for what? 60 years?" Brennan nodded glumly, knowing what was coming and she was correct. "Then, Sweetie, I really don't think him or her waiting a few more days is going to hurt anything. Do you?" Angela politely asked for her opinion.

"No, but Ange…," Brennan had her arguments all lined up in her head.

"Bren, I hate to do this to you, but I need you to do this for me without arguments so I'm invoking my best friend privilege," Angela told the stunned anthropologist firmly knowing there was no way Brennan would turn her down now. Brennan could not believe Angela was playing the freaking best friend card on a day when she wanted nothing more than to do something that didn't require her full attention and think about tonight. They had agreed years ago that they each had three free passes per year but Brennan had never had to invoke hers and Angela had only used hers a couple of times in all those years and only under dire circumstances. But as per their best friend agreement, Brennan literally couldn't say no.

"Fine," Brennan sighed morosely then really looked at Angela and saw that despite the smile, her friend looked worried. "Ange, is something wrong?" She asked quietly.

"Everything is going to be fine, Bren," Angela assured her, slipping an arm around her shoulders and leading her out of Limbo. Brennan, looking longingly at her fast disappearing remains, didn't notice the slip. "Come on, Bren. It will be fun. We'll get facials and waxed and massaged and we'll look like goddesses when we leave there." Brennan had to laugh at the enthusiasm in her friend's voice and she had to admit she liked the idea of looking like a goddess tonight.

"Ok, Ange. I've already said I would do it," she gave in gracefully and Angela squeezed her shoulders and ordered Brennan to meet her at the lab entrance in five minutes. Brennan nodded then stared after her friend in puzzlement. She could have sworn that Angela was muttering about Booth and board games as she went toward her own office.

Three hours later, Brennan looked over at her friend as they got the finishing touches of a pedicure and knew that something was wrong. Angela had been gay and charming with her ever since they left the Jeffersonian but it was so patently false that a knot of dread was starting to form in Brennan's stomach. At first, Brennan had thought there was something going on in Angela's life that she wanted to talk about but all her pointed questions to that end had been skillfully batted aside. She had finally figured out that Angela was trying to tell her something bad and was trying to ease her into it. And she so didn't want bad news. Not tonight. Tonight was for her and Booth but she knew she would have to deal with this before she could concentrate on tonight.

"Angela, what's wrong? Why did you really make me come with you today?" Angela looked up and sighed at the real concern in her friends face and voice. Concern with a trace of fear. _What the hell was she doing?_ She was supposed to be helping Brennan seduce Booth and all she was doing was scaring the crap out of her. But she couldn't tell her the real reason they were here at the spa, she was certain it would crush the anthropologist and her mind searched frantically for plausible excuses. Brennan's eyes narrowed over Angela's panic and she prepared to do something she had never done before.

"I call the best friend card, Angela. Now you have to tell me why we're really here," Brennan told her smugly. Angela looked at her with something approaching horror. Damn, sometimes Brennan was just too smart for her own good. Now Angela didn't have a choice because nothing trumped the best friend card not even keeping something from her for her own good.

"Fine, Bren, but I don't want you to get upset. We're going to fix this, I promise." Angela was now patting her hand and looking at her with something approaching pity and Brennan began to feel real fear.

"Angela, if you don't just tell me what's going on, I'm going to get very upset," Brennan promised, grabbing the patting hand and gripping it firmly. Angela swallowed hard but nodded.

"Bren, I think Booth may have misunderstood what you were telling him in your office today," Angela rushed out, anxiously watching her friend's face for signs of an impending meltdown. Brennan just looked confused.

"You mean when I backed him up against the wall and propositioned him?" Brennan asked for clarification. After all, she and Booth had been in her office several times today and she wanted to make sure she and Angela were on the same page.

"Yeah," sighed Angela despondently, still watching Brennan closely.

"Why would you think that, Angela?" Brennan was being almost too calm but Angela answered the question.

"Booth and I were chatting after you went to Limbo and some of the things he said made me think he may have misunderstood your intent so I asked him," Angela admitted, hoping her friend didn't think she'd overstepped the boundaries of even a best friend.

"And what did he say?"

"You know," Angela frowned in memory, "I didn't catch it all but I did catch enough to know that he thinks you want to play board games with him," she finished in disgust.

"You mean like monopoly?" Brennan's interest perked up and Angela looked at her oddly.

"I think he specifically had Clue in mind, Bren. So I decided that we needed a spa day and a little shopping to knock Studly on his ass before I just hit him over the head with something hard and feed him to Zach's beetles," she finished darkly and Brennan couldn't hold back her laugh at Angela's disgruntled tone. But the laugh didn't last long and Brennan turned a hurt look on her.

"So you think I can't get Booth into bed on my own? That I need the artificial assistance of spa treatments and suggestive apparel?" Angela was aghast at the conclusions Brennan had drawn from her actions, knowing she should have expected it from a purely logical point of view.

"No, Bren. No, I honestly don't know what I was thinking except that Booth is an idiot and I had to help you. Please don't be mad," she begged her voice and face so earnest that Brennan couldn't have been mad at her if she had tried.

"I'm not mad, Ange," she assured the worried artist softly, now patting her arm. "I think it was very sweet and will welcome any further assistance you wish to offer."

"Really?" gasped Angela, her face clearing of worry and a huge smile breaking out over it.

"Really," Brennan smiled back, "but I have to meet Booth at five and it's just after three now so we have to hurry," she warned. Angela's eyes narrowed and Brennan knew she was laying out her shopping plan in her head.

"Difficult but doable," she agreed, "my favorite lingerie shop is just around the corner and a friend of mine has a store where I'm sure we can find just the dress I'm looking for." She eyed Brennan up and down then smiled, "Seeley Booth isn't going to know what hit him," she assured Brennan and Brennan smiled back.

"We'll have to hurry, Ange," Brennan urged after donning her shoes and starting for the spa entrance.

"Why?"

"Because I need to stop by the toy store," Brennan pushed through the spa door and bustled out onto the street.

"What? Why?" Angela caught her arm and swung her around to face her.

"Ange, I only have the game Monopoly so I need to pick up a game of Clue just in case that is what Booth has in mind," she told Angela in exasperation, turning away quickly so Angela didn't see her smile. Shaking her head and muttering, Angela quickly took the lead and led Brennan toward the lingerie shop, praying that all this work would lead to something good and the two idiots wouldn't actually spend the night playing board games.

Brennan followed her friend more slowly, not even trying to hide her grin. Somewhere between starting to get insulted that Angela didn't think she could seduce Booth without her assistance and her assuring Angela that she would welcome her assistance, it had hit her. She had not one single doubt in her mind or heart that Booth knew exactly what she had been doing in her office, returned those feelings and had every intention of following through tonight. Not even a flicker. She even had a good idea of what had happened with Booth and Angela. Booth had told her what Parker had said to him at the batting cages and it was obvious that he was upset about the squints talking so freely in front of his son. Brennan had offered to talk to her team but he had insisted he would take care of it. Perhaps this was his way of taking care of Angela. She would have to ask him later, but she was actually glad this had happened. It had shown her without a doubt that she was ready and she trusted that Booth was as well.

She wasn't completely sure how she felt about him messing with her best friend, though. It felt a little weird, like if she told Angela what she suspected she would be betraying Booth and if she didn't she would be betraying Angela. She would just have to work that one out. So, to allay her guilt on that score, she would allow Angela to dress her however she liked, within reason. Booth would get a treat or punishment for messing with her best friend, depending on your point of view and she would get what she wanted. This was most definitely going to be a win/win situation she told herself happily, entering the lingerie shop.

Booth made it through the rest of the day and his meeting with Cullen on autopilot, checking his watch every 10 minutes. He finally told himself to get a grip when the hands of his watch reached 4 PM and he was checking it every five minutes. The hands weren't going to move faster just because he wanted them to. At 4:35, he said to hell with it and straightened his desk, getting to his feet and grabbing his jacket just as Charlie entered his office with a stack of files in his hands. Booth groaned inwardly, praying that nothing in that stack couldn't wait until he came back Monday because nothing short of his own death was going to keep him here any longer today.

"What do you need, Charlie?" Booth queried impatiently.

"These all need your signature, Booth. But they can wait until tomorrow."

"I'm not working tomorrow, Charlie. Can they wait until Monday?"

"Sure, Booth. Oh, by the way, Booth, the other guys on the hockey team wanted me to let you know they've called a special practice for tomorrow night after work." Booth slipped on his jacket and turned to pick his phone up off the desk not even hesitating in his reply.

"Sorry, Charlie, but I have plans for this weekend. Plans that I don't want interrupted for any reason." _Where the hell was that phone?_ It had just been right here. Booth rifled around on his desk for the phone as Charlie sputtered behind him.

"But, Booth, the guys really need you at practice. You know how important it is to them to kick the guys in computer crimes ass and that game is next weekend. This will be the last practice before that game." Charlie knew they didn't have a chance without Booth. He was, after all, the bookie around the place when it came to friendly bets on the hockey games and certain other things and his bookie senses were going on high alert that Booth was so resistant to having his plans interrupted. That could only mean one thing. Those plans were with a woman. _But who? _ He kept such a tight lid on his personal life that no one knew who Booth was dating, if he was dating at all. The only woman you ever saw Booth with was Dr. Brennan and despite rampant gossip and the good deal of cash Charlie was holding pending the outcome of that little situation, no one had ever come up with enough concrete evidence that the two were involved to claim the $8,000.00 pool.

"The guys will just have to understand, Charlie. It won't be the first time someone has missed practice. I'll be at the game and that's what matters." Charlie had to give him that one but he did feel it was his duty to ferret out what information he could about the woman Booth was spending the weekend with. He had an obligation to his coworkers to adjust the odds in the betting pool as needed.

"Ok, I'll let them know but they won't be happy about it." Booth's shrug indicated he didn't much care if they were happy about it or not as he finally located his errant cell phone. Slipping it in his pocket and turning to go, he found Charlie blocking his way determinedly. Leaning back against his desk in amusement, Booth crossed his arms over his chest and raised a questioning brow. He knew what Charlie wanted and why. But it was always worth a laugh when he tried to get information for his betting pool out of Booth, so he decided to let him ask his questions. Charlie had exactly four minutes then Booth was out of here. No way was he going to be late picking up Brennan.

"So, do you have plans with Parker for the weekend?" Charlie asked boldly, desperately trying to hide the nervousness in his voice and the flush on his cheeks. Booth looked at the shorter man with amusement but shook his head obligingly. _Oh, yeah_, thought Charlie, _definitely a woman_. Glancing back down at his watch, Booth saw that Charlie had three minutes left and looked back up to see what he would come up next and promptly forgot that Charlie existed, much less was standing in front of him in his office.

His eyes fell on the woman leaning negligently against his doorjamb and he momentarily lost the capacity to form coherent thought as well as the ability to speak. She was breathtaking as she gave him a smile that tightened his gut and made him wish they were already alone. That wish became a fervent desire as his eyes met sparking blue ones that told him she was having the same thought.

"Hi," she almost whispered, straightening and walking into the office.

"Hi. I thought I was picking you up?" he returned with a soft smile.

"Angela and I were out so I decided to just meet you here." She shrugged as she walked past Charlie and he got a good look at her attire for the first time.

"Let me guess, Angela took you shopping?" he inquired drily, motioning at the stockings and heels and what he could see of the dress under her coat and she laughed, tilting her head downward and glancing at him through her lashes.

"Do you like it?" she asked throatily and Booth's hands tingled and his body tightened with the need to show her just how much he liked it right here and now. Jerking his eyes away from his flirting partner so he would be able to walk out of the building without embarrassment, his gaze fell on Charlie who was staring at Brennan a little too intently for Booth's liking.

"We're done here, Charlie," Booth snapped. He had to repeat it twice before Charlie answered.

"Um, yeah, sure, Booth. Dr. Brennan you look lovely today," he offered gallantly and Booth was surprised that he didn't want to shoot the other man until he realized it was because he knew in his heart that he didn't have anything to worry about. Brennan was his and they both knew it.

"Thank you, Charlie," she answered graciously, her voice void of the flirtatiousness she reserved for Booth.

"You two have a good weekend," he called as he exited the room, shutting the door behind him at Booth request. Well, that had been a royal waste of time. He had no idea who Booth was seeing over the weekend but it looked like he was spending tonight with Dr. Brennan. Not that that was any surprise. They were always together and that certainly didn't require any adjustments to the odds in the betting pool so it was all good.

Without his permission, Booth's hands reached out and grabbed the edges of Brennan's coat and pulled her closer. She and Angela'd had surprisingly little trouble agreeing on a dress and Brennan had allowed Angela to choose the accessories. They had also been in complete agreement on the underwear and Brennan had actually been disappointed when the outfit they finally agreed on didn't allow her any. She hoped Booth wasn't too disappointed about that but she had every intention of showing it to him eventually.

"What are you doing, Booth?" she questioned breathlessly as he parted the edges of her coat to get a better look at the dress. He stiffened and suddenly the coat was sliding off her shoulders, being pushed by big, eager hands.

"What are _you_ doing, Bones?" he shot back, looking at the body hugging black dress that appeared to be made out of lace. With her coat on, the dress had appeared almost prim but without the covering, there was nothing prim about it. It started at a choke collar and lovingly hugged every inch of her delicious body until it ended midthigh and it was made out of freaking lace. Oh, it had panels inserted in strategic places but it was obvious she was not wearing anything under that dress and that was all he could think about. "Are you trying to kill me?" he demanded gruffly, pulling her tightly against him and dropping his forehead against hers. Brennan snorted.

"Booth, since I have chosen you as my mate, it would be completely illogical of me to try to kill you. Angela thought I needed the assistance to seduce you and, from what I gather, that is entirely your own fault. What exactly did you say to her?" But Booth wasn't interested in talking about Angela. His attention was focused on her first sentence.

"So you've chosen me as your mate, huh?" he asked with a self satisfied grin that didn't disturb Brennan in the least.

"Yes, Booth, I have chosen you as my mate. Just as you have chosen me." He sighed with relief at the conviction in her voice. She finally got it. Laughing with sheer joy in the moment, Booth hugged her tightly and his head bent to kiss her. She gladly accepted and returned the kiss until his hands landed on her bottom and ground her against him and his mouth became ravenous.

"Booth, we're in your office," she gasped, tearing her mouth away from his but his followed and drowned out the rest of her words. Brennan shuddered as he gently bit down on her bottom lip and knew she had to remind him where they were. It might not be completely professional for them to carry on in her office but there was a built in safety net there. They were a fairly isolated group that were completely loyal to each other and even if everyone knew, no one would say anything if they asked them not to. She doubted those same rules applied here and she knew this man and he wouldn't like it at all that he had been out of control in his office. So, as much as she wanted to just go on kissing him forever, she had to get them out of here. Regretfully, pushing against his chest as hard as she could, she tore her mouth from his and grabbed his face between her palms, holding his head still as he instinctively searched for her mouth again. "Look at me, Booth," she said urgently. His eyes opened and she moaned at the fire burning in their depths. "We're in your office, Booth," she reiterated. "Your office with glass walls."

Booth groaned as Brennan's mouth moved away from his, lost in the feel of her body moving against him as his hands drew ragged groans from her throat. It took him a few seconds to realize she was talking to him but the words made no sense. All he knew was that she was stopping him but her declaration that he was her mate had pushed him past the point of allowing that. _Hell, no, they weren't stopping. Not this time._ With a sigh, his lips found hers again and they were both thrown back into the whirlpool of desire that always swirled around them. All too soon, she ripped her mouth away and grabbed his face in her hands. Booth growled in frustration and searched for her mouth again but she wouldn't give him the contact he craved.

Forcing his eyes open, he saw she was urgently trying to tell him something but he couldn't hear her over the thumping of his heart. He watched her mouth reform the words until he finally got what she was saying. At that moment, he couldn't have cared less where they were, all he cared about was getting back to what they had been doing. He knew he should care but he didn't. He also knew he would care later. Tearing himself out of her arms was one of the hardest things he'd ever done but he had to get away from her for a minute or he wasn't going to care about later. Turning, Booth walked to the nearest wall and propped one strong arm on the wall, resting his head on his extended arm, fighting to bring himself under control. _God, he hadn't meant to jump her like that_. He actually did have some degree of finesse with women; it just seemed to desert him with this one particular woman.

"Booth, are you ok?" she asked softly and he stiffened then relaxed when he realized that she was still standing across the room. It would be very bad for her to get closer to him at the moment.

"I'll be ok, Baby," he reassured her, still breathing hard, "I just need a minute." Brennan nodded but didn't speak and bent down to pick up her coat, putting it on and buttoning it, starting to feel bad that she had allowed Angela to talk her into this. With a resigned sigh, she turned toward the bullpen area outside Booth's door expecting to see his coworkers pointing and staring. To her surprise, no one was paying them the least little bit of attention. She was so deep into debating whether no one had actually seen them as opposed to people had seen them and just didn't consider it abnormal behavior that she started when Booth's hands came to rest on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Booth," she apologized breathlessly, spinning around to face him.

"What are you sorry for, Bones?" he asked with a soft smile, the fire in his eyes banked for the moment but it was definitely still there.

"I should never have let Angela talk me into wearing this dress and I shouldn't have come here. This was all my fault..," Booth stopped the rant by placing a finger over her lips and she looked up at him. He didn't want her to feel badly about anything that had happened between them and he sure as hell wasn't sorry for what they had just done.

"This as you refer to it is no one's fault, Bones. It's just what happens between us and I, for one, am damned glad of it. And just for the record, I love the dress. I guess I should be the one apologizing for jumping you in my office but I'm not the least bit sorry." His thumb was stroking over her bottom lip and they were leaning toward each other when a burst of laughter outside the office broke the spell. _Time to get the hell out of here while they still could_.

"But, Booth, you said you liked the dress," Brennan complained as she unlocked the front door to her apartment.

"I do like the dress, Bones. Too much, in fact, for you to wear it to dinner tonight." He ushered her inside and closed the door behind them, refusing to reach out and grab her again now that they were finally alone. He had a romantic dinner planned for them and he had every intention of following through on that no matter how much his body complained. And complain it did as she stripped off her coat and turned to hang it up and he got his first back view of the dress. Oh, dear God, there were no strategic panels at all on the back and knowing there was nothing but Brennan under there made it very difficult for him to think about anything else. Granted, you could only see flashes of skin but every curve and valley of her body was revealed before his eager eyes and, damn, that had to be the hottest thing he'd ever seen. He swallowed hard and his eyes narrowed. He knew this woman and despite her being able to so freely discuss sex, she was way too modest to ever consider wearing this out in public. So that had to mean she had meant for them to wind up here first thing. _That didn't necessarily mean she had meant for sex to be the first thing on the agenda for tonight_, he told himself as she turned and strutted toward him. He quickly put his hands on the door behind him and leaned against them to keep them from grabbing her when she came to a stop in front of him.

"Fine, Booth. I'll change and then we can go out to dinner," she sighed and he nodded in relief, but a line of sweat broke out on his upper lip when she raised her arms and pulled her hair away from her nape. She was speaking before he could force his eyes away from the way the motion caused those bountiful breasts to sway and bounce, her nipples noticeably erect under the lace

"What?" he asked in confusion, struggling to get the erotic images of his mouth on those naked breasts out of his mind. She deserved to be romanced, he reminded himself just as she swung around and presented him with her back and all that lovely, barely covered skin. His teeth ground together as his jaw clenched to hold back the moan struggling to escape and his gut clenched even tighter as his eyes avidly ran over the stunning body so openly on display before him.

"I need you to undo me," she told him over her shoulder and he could have sworn there was a suggestive tone in her voice but he just couldn't be sure. His mind was so far in Guttersville at the moment he wasn't entirely sure of anything except if he didn't take this woman to bed soon he was going to completely lose it. Telling his hands to behave themselves, Booth slowly withdrew them from behind his back and reached out, trying to grab the zipper without touching her soft, soft skin but he immediately ran into problems. He couldn't find the freaking zipper.

"There's a row of hooks and eyes at the top," Brennan told him helpfully and scooted back closer so he could see better. At least that's what Booth told himself as he practically smashed himself into the door so she wasn't rubbing all over him but she continued to wiggle backward until she was snuggled tightly against him, her rounded ass cradling his raging erection, and he couldn't even see the back of the dress anymore. He could, however, clearly see the sultry, suggestive smile she threw over her shoulder. "Well, Booth, are you going to do me, or not?"

"What?" he demanded, his hands falling to her waist to hold her wiggling hips still, sure that he had misunderstood her. The only thing he could hear over the pounding of his own heart was his strained breathing so he wouldn't be surprised that he had misunderstood her. And, dammit, if she wiggled that gorgeous ass against his hard on one more time, she was going to find herself bent over something very, very quickly. He was holding onto his control with an iron will but knowing he could just bend her over, unzip his pants and push inside her hot depths was wreaking havoc on that control.

"Are you going to undo me or not," she asked, looking at him so innocently that he suddenly knew he hadn't misheard her and she was playing with him. Granted, these little games had almost become second nature in their developing relationship but he'd had enough. They didn't need the games. They had so much more going for them and he was about to show her that. His hands shifted and he pulled her back against him, grinding his erection against the firm globes of her bottom.

"Bones, if you have any hopes of actually getting fed tonight, you need to stop it and behave yourself. You have no idea how close I am to saying the hell with it and just taking you to bed and once I get you there, you won't be leaving for at least a couple of days." He growled against her ear then turned his mouth to her neck as if he just couldn't help himself. Brennan moaned at the images his words conjured as well as his hot mouth on her skin and pushed back against him instinctively. Coming to a decision, she stepped forward and dropped her head to give him access to the fastenings of her dress. Booth wanted to beat his head against the door in frustration but a few more hours wouldn't kill him. If Brennan wanted to go out, then he would damn well take her out, he fumed, forgetting it had been his idea in the first place.

Quickly dealing with the row of hooks and eyes, Booth turned his attention to the zipper and his motions slowed considerably as he drew the zipper down and revealed the perfect curve of her bare back to his eyes. He couldn't stop the fingers of his free hand following the descending zipper and softly stroking her incredibly soft skin. His eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw that the zipper extended to only a couple of inches above the hem of the dress, meaning it would leave her delectable ass on display if he continued.

"Bones, do you want me to undo this all the way," his voice almost cracked and he didn't even care, waiting on the answer with bathed breath.

"I guess that depends, Booth," she returned and her voice was none too steady.

"On what?" he whispered.

"On how you feel about take out." Her eyes met his over her shoulder and his heart rate kicked into overdrive at the open lust and longing in her gaze.

"I like takeout," he admitted huskily, his hands slipping inside her open dress to slide around to her abdomen and pull her back against him, the feel of her silky hot skin under his hands pulling a moan from deep within his chest.

"Are you hungry now?" she asked with a gasp as his nose nudged the dress off of one shoulder and he nibbled his way across it and up her neck to her ear.

"God, Baby, I'm starving," he whispered gutturally against her ear, "but not for food. For you, Bones, only for you." Brennan didn't have the chance to answer him as she suddenly found her back pressed against her door and her front pressed against a very hard, very aroused, very aggressive Seeley Booth.

Brennan gasped as her aching breasts were crushed against his hard chest and one of his hands tugged her dress up until it barely covered the tops of her thighs. One hard thigh insinuated itself between hers and nudged them apart until he could step between them as his other hand lifted her right leg up over his hip. His eager mouth swallowed her gasp and gave her one back and at the same time his hands went to her hips and tilted them so her moist heat was grazing his erection, separated only by the layers of his clothing.

Booth shuddered as Brennan whimpered into his mouth and her hips caught the rhythm of his. The friction of his pants against her sensitive nub as his tongue heavily thrust into her mouth in tandem with the movement of his hips had her almost out of control already. _God, she was about to come and he was still fully dressed. How did he do that to her?_ At the moment she didn't care, she just wanted to return the favor. Unceremoniously loosening his tie and tossing it over his shoulder, she attacked the buttons on his shirt as if they were her personal enemies. Finally conquering the buttons, she pulled his shirt tail out of his pants and tried to push it off of his shoulders, but he wouldn't take his hands off of her long enough to oblige.

"Off," Brennan demanded breathlessly, tearing her mouth away from his and pushing at his coat insistently. Booth tore the coat and shirt off, dropping them on the floor without a second thought. Booth focused on the beautiful woman in his arms and his heart clenched with so much love he didn't know how it didn't burst. She was all mussed and ruffled from his hands and mouth and he'd never thought her more beautiful or more precious and she sure as hell deserved better than a quick fuck against the door. That one realization allowed him to regain control of his raging hormones and his aching body. Capturing her mouth in a tender kiss, he swung her into his arms and strode for the bedroom before she could complain or question. And when he stepped inside that bedroom with her in his arms, he felt like he had come home. Still kissing her, he let her slide to her feet at the end of the bed and took her face in his hands.

"I love you, Bones. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I need you to know that," he told her, softly stroking her cheek as her eyes fluttered open.

"I love you, too, Booth and I want to be with you," Booth's gut clenched right along with his heart on this one. For someone who didn't believe in monogamy or commitment, she had just made one hell of a commitment to him.

Booth sat down on the end of the bed and pulled her between his spread thighs, reaching up to peel down her dress and reveal that amazing body inch by delicious inch. Brennan threw back her head and arched her back as the lace dragged over her distended nipples, sending flutters of desire shooting straight down between her thighs. Booth left her arms tangled in the dress that was currently around her waist and lifted her to straddle his hips, his tongue dragging over one of those pink, pointy nipples as his hands urged her hips to move against him. He could feel how hot and wet she was through his own clothing and he was so hard his cock throbbed with each beat of his heart. He needed the slight relief of that hot center grinding against him. Hell, what he needed was to be inside her but he wanted her as hot as she made him first. His lips closed around her nipple and his teeth bit down gently. Brennan almost screamed in frustration as she struggled to free her arms from the dress but she wasn't getting anywhere except closer and closer to orgasm which was definitely somewhere she wanted to go, she just wanted him with her.

"Booth, take my dress off," she moaned as he lavished the other breast with the same attention. "Please," she begged as one of his hands moved down and he found her slick and more than ready for him.

"Why?" he asked lazily, stroking her clit with each rock of her hips, his eyes holding hers.

"I want to touch you," she gasped as he slipped one finger in her tight channel and her hips bucked against his hand, completely beyond her control. "Please, Booth, I want you inside of me when I come." Instantly, she found herself flat on her back and Booth was stripping the dress off of her body. He slipped off her shoes but left on the stockings with a wicked wink. Then he carelessly stripped off his remaining clothing and Brennan's mouth practically watered as each gorgeous, muscled portion of his anatomy was revealed. She wanted to run her hands and mouth over every glorious inch of him. Her eyes were automatically drawn to his prominent erection and she licked her lips in anticipation. Hearing a low, animal growl rumble from his chest, she quickly looked up to see his eyes locked on her face. With a feline smile of her own, she came up on all fours and crawled toward him but he grabbed her hand before she could fold her fingers around his hard on, flipping her on her back and coming down on top of her.

"Why don't you want me to touch you, Booth?" she asked curiously. Booth actually shuddered at the question.

"I do want you to touch me, Bones, but I want to be inside you when you come even more. I don't want to disappoint you, Baby," He didn't need to explain further but she did think he needed to be reminded what tonight was all about.

"You could never disappoint me, Booth and tonight isn't about you or me. It's about us," she repeated his words to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to catch his lower lip between her teeth and tug none too gently. With a moan, he immediately took control of the kiss, parting her lips and sending his tongue into her mouth to curl around hers. He tried to reign in his aggression but the weeks of repressing all that sexual tension had evidently made that impossible and he could see that Brennan liked it very much so he stopped worrying about it and just let himself go. He steeped himself in the feelings this one woman roused in him and did his best to show her how he felt with his body.

His hands roamed to her breasts as his mouth ate at hers, each kiss deeper, wetter, hotter than the last. Her hands scraped up and down the muscles of his chest, concentrating on his nipples and when her head ducked and she sucked one of his nipples into her mouth, his breath hissed out between clenched teeth and his hips involuntarily jerked forward just as her fingers closed around his throbbing cock. And, God, he never wanted her to stop as she stroked him. He wanted to savor each touch, each caress, make this night with her last forever but his gut was wound in a knot so tight he wasn't sure he would survive the unraveling and he had been so hard for so long that he didn't even remember what if felt like not to be on edge. But, damn, he wanted that and he instinctively knew that it would be better than he could ever imagine with her.

Brennan's hands went to Booth's hips, tugging and urging him closer as she tilted her hips to entice him. He was killing her. She was so hot and wet, she should be a steaming pile of goo. And if not goo, the heat unfurling in her belly and moving lower should have burned her to ashes. A fragile human body wasn't made to withstand that kind of heat. She sure as hell wasn't a rational human being anymore any longer. If she had been she would have just demanded Booth give her what she wanted. Trouble was she didn't know what she wanted. She had never felt like this before. This wrenching need for him to never stop touching her, stroking her body, kissing her like he would rather do that than draw his next breath was something outside her experience. At the same time, her body was throbbing with the need for release, each glide of his chest across her nipples, every flick of his finger against her clit elevating it to the level of near pain. God, she needed to come, but she couldn't bear for this to stop.

And suddenly Booth was stretched back out on top of her, giving her exactly what she needed. Settling back between her thighs, he looked into her eyes as he positioned himself at her entrance and she held her breath, her eyes involuntarily closing.

"Look at me, Bones," he commanded softly as her legs came up to circle his waist. She managed to force her eyes open as he intertwined the fingers of their hands and gently brought them to rest on the bed on either side of her head. "I love you, Bones," he told her and pushed forward meaning to gently seat himself where he had wanted to be for so very long. With a low whimper in the back of her throat, Brennan's hips surged up at the same time and, God, he was planted so deep and she was so hot and tight that he thought the top of his head was going to blow off. His aggressiveness reasserted itself and he instantly knew slow and gentle was no longer an option. His mouth settled on hers and his tongue invaded her mouth as he pulled back and drove back into her eager body with much less gentleness.

Her thighs clenched him tight, her hips lifting to meet him thrust for thrust. Every time he partially withdrew, Brennan made a whimpering sound of protest in the back of her throat and those little sounds were making him crazy. Almost as crazy as the moans each aggressive plunge into her tight sheath dragged out of her. Almost as crazy as the feel of that same tight sheath clutching his sensitive flesh. But when her body bowed against his and her inner muscles began to contract around his aching cock and her lips closed around his tongue, sucking hard, he completely lost it. His thrusts became more powerful, more out of control and he felt her orgasm break over her just as he was hit by a climax that made him shudder in wonder. He was slammed with such intense satisfaction that he couldn't move or breathe; he could only feel as he emptied himself deeply inside the love of his life. And when it was over, he felt drained and renewed at the same time. He felt loved.

Brennan felt Booth roll to her side and pull her close as she floated down from an orgasm unlike any she had ever experienced before. She'd had good, even great sex before and there was no comparison between any of those experiences and what she had just shared with Booth. He had made her burn for completion until wave after wave of incredibly powerful pleasure twisted through her body and she would have begged for him to finish it, to let her find fulfillment. She had never felt that degree of pleasure with anyone else and instinctively knew she never would. But that didn't really matter as she fully intended to be with only Booth from now on. Her mind flashed back to that day at the diner after the pony play case when Booth had talked to her about making love versus crappy sex and decided he had been absolutely correct and that was exactly the word she had been looking for to describe her feelings. Love. She felt loved.

"Are you all right?" Booth asked softly, repositioning her pliant body closer to the pillows and pulling the covers over them.

"Umm. I'm great," she answered sleepily snuggling closer and not even minding when his chest rumbled in laughter under her head.

"You're not just great. You are perfect," he told her, tipping her face up to kiss her tenderly, surprised when her hands came up to cup his face and she deepened the kiss.

"I love you, Booth," she said around a yawn as she finally released his mouth and Booth was stunned. She had actually said the words to him before but he didn't even know if she remembered that but right now she wasn't drugged or incapacitated in any way and she had said the words so easily that he knew she had been saying them in her heart for a while, the same as him.

"I love you, too, Bones," he whispered, kissing her again.

"It's too bad you have to work tomorrow," she sighed rolling on top of him and locking her arms around his neck.

"Oh yeah? Why is that bad?" he teased.

"Because you have to get some sleep," she muttered, nibbling at his lips.

"It just so happens that I took tomorrow off. I don't have anything planned for this weekend but this and us," he gestured to the bed and was almost blinded by her radiant smile.

"I almost called Cullen and requested the day off for you," she confessed, dipping her head to toy with his earlobe.

"I almost did the same thing with Cam until Angela mentioned you had already taken the day off," he returned, suddenly flipping her over and looming over her. "Now do you really want to talk?" he asked seriously and she fluttered her eyelashes at him flirtatiously.

"What else did you have in mind, big boy?" she used the same voice she had used on Hodgins when she was impersonating Angela and it had the same effect on Booth as it had had then. He was instantly hot and hard, pictures of her leaning over in front of him in those skin tight shorts and how badly he'd wanted to do something about it running through his mind. He hadn't been able to do anything about it then but now he was free to indulge those urges. Leaning down, he sucked a nipple deep into his mouth and she instantly reverted to his Bones, clasping his head to pull him closer and arching her back toward his mouth, moaning.

"Did you enjoy torturing me in Bali, Bones?" he asked, releasing her nipple with a popping sound.

"Did I torture you, Booth?" Her head came up and her smoky blue eyes gave him his answer. Hell, yeah, she had enjoyed it.

"Don't pretend like you don't know you had me hard the whole time we were there. I was so hot for you that I could barely concentrate on the case and that got you hurt." He tenderly stroked her throat in the exact spots she had been injured. He didn't have any trouble remembering where they were. The image of her swollen, bruised skin was indelibly etched in his memory as was his feelings of failing to protect her.

"What?" she demanded, suddenly pushing up against him, forcing him back on his knees as she came up on hers to face him. "Booth, that wasn't your fault. You saved my life that night, Booth," she assured him, cupping his face between her palms and looking at him as if she could make him believe what she was saying by pure strength of will. "You know, Angela says that you're my knight in standard issue FBI armor," she told him more softly and shuffled closer, until her breasts were pressed tightly to his chest and her arms wrapped around his neck. His hands automatically went to her waist to urge her closer. "And she's right," Brennan went on, letting her head fall back so she could meet his eyes. "You, Seeley Booth, are my hero." Booth's couldn't believe his ears. The woman who didn't believe in anything that couldn't be scientifically proven had just called him her knight in shining armor and her hero all in one breath? No freaking way. But he couldn't stop the slow curl of his lips. In fact, he didn't even try.

"I'm your hero, huh?" Brennan's heart almost melted as he tenderly smoothed the hair away from her face and he could see his earlier disgust with himself fading, hopefully to be forgotten once and for all.

"Yes, you are," she assured, gazing up at him with nothing short of adoration. _God, she made him feel twenty feet tall and invincible when he looked at her like that. Like he was capable of moving mountains, like he had never let her down and he never would. He wanted her to look at him like that for the rest of their lives._ Pulling his head down, she lazily traced her tongue across the seam of his lips and they automatically parted for her.

"Do you really want to talk right now?" she asked throatily before taking him up on the invitation to enter. Never let it be said that Seeley Booth was stupid. He knew they had a lot of things to talk out but, right now, talking just wasn't high on his list of priorities. Without bothering to answer, he tumbled her onto her back and followed her down, his mouth finding hers with possessive urgency. They had the rest of their lives to work out the rest of that stuff but this particular moment would never come again and he planned to make the most of it.


	34. Chapter 34

**Musie has been issued a challenge. The last chapter apparently was disappointing to some people and this is her response. It is a little shorter than usual but I think the content will make up for the lack of length. Please let me know what you think. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Several hours later their sweaty bodies lay entwined on the twisted sheets, Booth's head resting on Brennan's chest as she lovingly stroked his hair. "Booth, I think you should tell me what happened that night in Bali," she said suddenly. His hand paused in its lazy stroking of the soft skin of her abdomen and his head lifted, turning to look at her.

"Believe me now, do you?" His lifted brow told her he was still a little insulted over that.

"Booth, it wasn't that I disbelieved you, exactly. I was upset that night," she justified swiftly. Booth snorted and straightened out to lie beside her, propping his head on his upturned hand.

"You were horny that night, Bones," he clarified with a wicked grin, his hand returning to caress the skin of her abdomen with long, slow strokes, "Just like you were that night in Bali. Just like we both were that night in Bali," he corrected himself when she stiffened at his words. But, she didn't relax at the clarification and he looked at her more closely only to see she appeared to be looking at everything in the room but him. "Hey," he asked softly, tilting her face up so he could look into her eyes, "what is it?"

"Did I push you into doing something you didn't want to do that night, Booth?" Brennan bit her lower lip, hoping she was wrong but his answer indicated that his inability to resist her advances had been about satisfying the demands of their bodies rather than some deeper reason. She looked more uncertain than Booth had ever seen her look about anything. He wanted to laugh at the very idea of what she was suggesting but he had learned a hard lesson about laughing when she was this serious about something.

"Why would you think something like that, Bones?" He asked, gently smoothing the hair back from her face.

"Because I think I remember that night, Booth, and I was somewhat aggressive." Her voice was steady but her eyes practically begged him to convince her that she was wrong. He couldn't stop the sexy grin that spread across his face at the memory.

"Yeah, Baby, you were a little aggressive but do you honestly think I couldn't have fought you off if I had really wanted to?" he questioned.

"I don't know, Booth. I am pretty strong and I know I like to get my way so I could have exerted undue influence over you," she insisted. She was using her rational scientist voice and looking more agitated instead of calmer. Actually, she looked hurt and Booth had no idea what he had done but he couldn't stand to be the cause of putting that look on her face. And he was done with the second guessing each other, from now on they worked it out, together, with no secrets.

"Talk to me, Baby. Tell me what's bothering you," he pleaded, his thumb gently smoothing the soft skin of her cheek.

"It wasn't fair of me to use your body's natural physical response to a reasonably attractive female to beguile you, Booth," she muttered, not meeting his eyes. Translating Brennan speak into normal conversation was something he was damned good at after all their years together and this one didn't take him long. She thought the night in Bali had been about the sex and, to a degree, it had but not like she meant. If he hadn't already been desperately in love with her and considered her his, he would have been able to resist anything she threw at him. In fact, the whole he couldn't resist thing was a cop out and he knew it, he had made love with her that night because he wanted to, because he loved her and he needed to. Now he just had to convince her of that.

"Bones, you made me crazy that night," he leaned down and gave her a long lingering kiss, needing her to put the logic aside and just feel with this one, "but only because I had wanted to have you in that position for so long and when I got you there, all warm and willing, you were drugged and I couldn't take advantage of you like that. It was frustrating as hell." He leaned in for another kiss but she pushed lightly against his shoulders and looked at him doubtfully.

"Booth, maybe you should tell me about what happened that night because what I remember wasn't exactly what I would call frustrating." _Explosively satisfying, maybe, but not frustrating, not after she had gotten him into bed, anyway. _She felt his lips form a smile against her collarbone where he was now kissing and licking and moving lower but he didn't respond verbally. "Well, Booth, aren't you going to tell me?" she gasped, arching her back as his lips moved lower and one of her nipples disappeared into his mouth.

"I would much rather show you," he whispered huskily, moving to the other breast, his tongue slowly scraping over the already hardened tip before his lips closed around it. His hand slid back down her abdomen and lower to find her nub swollen and sensitive. "Do you remember this?" he groaned, slipping two fingers inside her.

"Yes," she moaned, the steadily burning flame of desire for this man that seemed to constantly burn low in her belly bursting into an inferno at his touch. Her hands reached for his body, wanting to please him as much as he was pleasing her. One hand came to rest on his chest and she couldn't keep from running her fingers over the firm, hard muscles there, tracing the delineations and returning time and again to pinch his nipples between her thumb and forefinger. The other hand quickly drifted down and found him huge, hot and very, very hard. Velvet over steel. They both whimpered when her fingers closed around his hard cock and he raised his head to claim her mouth completely, as his personal property and Brennan didn't question his right to do so.

Booth couldn't believe how fast she could make him so hard he ached to be inside her and it didn't seem to matter how often or how soon beforehand he had come. He looked at her and he was hard. He touched her and he was so hard he hurt. If this kept up, it might be a real issue when they returned to work Monday but this wasn't Monday. This was his and Brennan's alone time, the real start of their new life together and he would worry about Monday when it got here.

"Do you remember this?" She groaned, as his fingers speeded up inside her.

"God, yes, I remember every second," he groaned gutturally as the long, firm stokes on his cock speeded up. His mouth covered hers, hard and ferocious, and she gladly opened her mouth to let his tongue plunder. Suddenly removing his fingers from her tight sheath, he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him. Pulling her mouth away from his, she looked at him, startled by the cessation of the movement of his magic fingers and the sudden change in position. But she adjusted quickly, her legs falling to straddle his and his hips bucked up as her hot, moist folds brushed the length of his erection.

"I don't remember this, Booth," she whimpered as both of his hands came up to cup her breasts.

"That's because this only happened in my imagination, Baby, and it happened years before Bali," he could barely speak as she started making little circles with her hips that stole his breath with every brush of her hot center against his straining hard on but he needed to get this out. He needed her to hear this. "I've been dreaming about you like this for so long that I don't even remember when it started." He had more but Brennan interrupted, stopping the motion of her hips. As crazy as it was making him, he instantly wanted to beg her to continue, to help assuage the ache the way only she could.

"So, you're saying that I didn't take advantage of you that night?" Booth couldn't hold back the burst of laughter. Snaking a hand up into her hair, he pulled her down onto his chest.

"No, you didn't take advantage of me," he assured her against her lips, "but, God, you have no idea how badly I wanted you to," he breathed into her open mouth, slipping his tongue inside her moist lips, thrusting deep, tasting, taking, exploring and seducing her with every sensuous swipe, every decadent thrust and parry.

Brennan was lost as Booth became voracious in his hunger. She had no thoughts other than satisfying the aching throb that her entire body had become at his words and actions but she wanted his satisfaction even more than she wanted her own. Kissing him back just as sensuously, her hand slipped down between their bodies and grasped his straining erection, guiding it to her entrance, allowing him to slip a couple of inches inside her.

"Is this what you wanted that night, Booth?" she gasped, using her arms against his chest to push up slightly and looked down into chocolate brown eyes gone ebony with desire.

"Yes," he moaned, his hands going to her hips and urging her down further, "I wanted you to ride me until we both collapsed from exhaustion," he panted as she slid down a couple of more inches. God, she was so tight that he had almost been afraid of hurting her the first time but she was even tighter, if possible, in this position and he had to fight to keep his hands from turning rough and pulling her the rest of the way down until his aching flesh was firmly seated inside her. Brennan felt Booth's struggle to hold himself in check and knowing that she had this kind of effect on him just sent her desire ratcheting higher. Coming fully erect on him, she threw her head back and moaned as she slid the rest of the way down on his cock, the full, stretching sensation of his entry so pleasurable it was almost painful.

Booth's breath hissed out between clenched teeth as Brennan's thighs tightened and she lifted almost completely off of him then lowered herself back down in torturously slow motion. She fit him like spandex, so tight, the drag on his sensitive flesh was excruciatingly pleasurable. She was so hot and wet that lubrication wasn't a problem and he began to fear a total loss of control, for the first time since the first time they had made love tonight. He had been able to restrain himself then by remembering it was their first time and how he had wanted their first time to be, tender and loving. There was plenty of love in this time. It was the tenderness he was having trouble holding onto.

He had woken hard and aching from dreams of her riding him too many times to count over the years and this position just seemed to trigger all that repressed lust, made his hands ache to help her move faster and harder. He forced his hands to let go of her hips and gripped fistfuls of the sheets instead. It was the only way he could be sure he would give her the time she needed to adjust to his size and not force her to increase her pace before she was ready. He couldn't have stopped the upward thrust of his hips to meet her downward glide if his life had depended on it.

Brennan gasped and her back arched, grinding her pelvis into his in circles as he slid deeply inside her moist depths, the friction sending shards of pleasure radiating from her core and spreading throughout her body. Booth wasn't the only one who had fantasized about this. Brennan had often fantasized and dreamed about her and Booth in varied sexual situations and their responses had been varied as well. Some had been slow and tender like most of the times they had already made love tonight, but never had she dreamed of this. This was pure, unadulterated lust, an almost animal need to achieve release with your mate, to take what you wanted and allow them to do the same until you were both too weak to move. Bracing her hands on Booth's chest, Brennan began to lift and lower herself on his hardness faster and harder and that was the only signal that Booth needed to resume full participation.

His hands came up to cup and mold her breasts, thumbing her nipples, then his head came up to lick and suckle those same straining nipples and roll them against the roof of his mouth with his tongue. Whimpering, Brennan increased her speed and Booth pulled her head down for a hard, wet kiss. She avidly retuned the kiss then pushed him flat on his back and his hands instinctively went to her hips, riding him harder and faster. Her breath coming in gasping pants and her body bowed toward him, Booth could feel her internal muscles tightening even more around his erection and knew she was close. Good, because he was about to lose his mind with the lust swirling through his bloodstream pushing everything except this moment with this woman into the recesses of his mind and making them unimportant. Slipping a hand between their bodies and easily locating her distended clit, he began to stroke it firmly, each stroke eliciting a shudder and whimper from her.

Brennan couldn't think, she could only feel. Feel herself lifting and slamming back down on Booth's hard length, each stroke drawing her body tighter, sending her higher and higher toward something she was almost afraid of. Feel Booth meeting each downward thrust of hers with an upward one of his own, feel his fingers rubbing her clit, intensifying the ache between her legs, feel how hard, how aroused and close the edge Booth was. And what she wanted to feel more than anything in the world right now was the orgasm she was being hurtled toward. And there it was, just out of her reach. She threw her head back and sobbed in frustration and Booth took over. With a growl, he rolled her over and reversed their positions without breaking their intimate connection.

"Booth," she moaned in disappointment, until he raised her right leg onto his shoulder, braced himself on his extended arms and buried himself in her tight sheath. Her whole body bowed up toward him so hard that her shoulders came off of the bed, one hand going to dig her nails into his tight ass and urge him on, the other gripping his back.

"Hold on, Baby," he growled, still struggling to hold himself in check.

"Please, Booth," she sobbed her head thrashing from side to side, her walls fluttering around him and he couldn't hold on any longer. Driving into her without any semblance of control, Booth dropped his head and took her mouth with hard, possessive lips just as her internal muscles clenched around his hard cock. Brennan's breath was suspended as she was plunged into a cocoon of pure sensation centering in her groin and radiating outward. She moaned her release into his mouth, her body jerking and twitching under his, as he continued to thrust hard and fast, the milking rhythm of her internal muscles quickly sending him toward release. Her rhythmic contractions never faltered or faded as he got more out of control until with one final thrust, he held fast in the deepest position he could gain inside her body and emptied himself, heart and soul, inside her. The pleasure was immense but it was more primal than that. He felt like he had just claimed his mate, marked her as his in a way that she and everyone else would understand. He was so drained that his trembling arms would no longer support him and he didn't even have the strength to roll to the side to keep from crushing her.

Brennan didn't mind when Booth collapsed on top of her. It would be perfectly acceptable to her if they never moved from this position. Each time they had made love tonight had been wonderful and completely satisfying but, wow, there was definitely something to be said for pure, old, hot, sweaty sex. But, it had been more than that, she mused while stroking Booth's back as he tried to catch his breath. In anthropological terms, she would have called that a mating ritual and that's exactly what it had felt like. If it had been a mating ritual, she and Booth would have been considered inexorably linked for life in the cultures that actually practiced the rituals. Booth was hers and she was his, they didn't need a ceremony to make that true but she was stunned to realize that if Booth wanted the ceremony at some point, she wouldn't object.

"Are you ok?" Booth asked, finally finding the strength to raise his head and look down into blue eyes blazing with what he could only describe as love.

"Wow, Booth, why didn't we do that in Bali?" he knew she wasn't avoiding his question and he could see she was fine. She just considered her question more important than the one he had asked. He began to laugh and rolled over to his back, encircling her with his arm and pulling her to his side, still chuckling. "Why is that so funny?" she asked curiously, propping her chin on his chest to look into soft, adoring brown eyes.

"You have no idea how badly I wanted to do that and a whole hell of a lot more for a very long time," he assured her, giving her a tight squeeze. "Besides me being an idiot, I don't know why we didn't do that in Bali, Baby," he told her, all hint of laughter gone as he linked the fingers of her right and his left hand, kissing the back of hers then placing them over his heart. "Maybe it just wasn't time yet," he offered and she nodded, remembering his everything happens eventually speech. "Besides," his grin returned and a wicked gleam entered his eyes, "if we had done that in Bali, I have a feeling we would still be in that bed in that beach cottage with a case still needing to be solved." Brennan laughed and reached up to stroke his face with her free hand.

"You're probably right," she agreed imperturbably, her heart telling her that her last doubt that Booth wasn't as invested in this relationship as she was had finally been put to rest.

"What are you thinking?" he asked softly and she refocused to find his face much closer as his hand on the back of her head urged hers down.

"I'm thinking that I love you, Booth," she murmured just as his lips closed over hers. He kissed her long and lingeringly and so tenderly that it brought tears to her eyes.

"I love you, too, Bones," he returned as he released her mouth and she laid her head on his chest with a wide yawn. Stroking her hair softly, he just watched her face as she drifted off to sleep. He would be content to lay her, holding her like this forever. Even though that wasn't possible, they did have the rest of their lives to be together, starting with the next three uninterrupted days and he would personally shoot the first person who bothered them.


	35. Chapter 35

**Well, boys and girls, this is the last chapter for this one and I can't tell you how sad I am to see it go. I also can't tell you how awed and touched I am by your overwhelming response to this story. Over a thousand reviews! Wow! I never expected that but I sincerely appreciate it. I'm going back to Now I Know and working on a couple of ideas so you haven't heard the last of me. Thanks, T.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

Their first interruption came at 2:30 PM Friday afternoon and it was a good thing he hadn't been serious about shooting the person responsible. It would be very bad for his son's developing psyche for his father to shoot his mother. Rebecca called in a panic about having a big date that night and the babysitter having just been admitted to the hospital with food poisoning. Booth instantly offered to take Parker, pleased when Brennan smiled approvingly. He hated to have their time alone interrupted but he didn't get to see enough of his son as it was, he would take any extra time he could get. Luckily Brennan loved the little boy, too, and enjoyed spending time with him or their relationship could have gotten off to a very rocky start.

"Daaaddd," Parker called plaintively, walking into the kitchen not long after Rebecca dropped him off to find his dad kissing Brennan senseless. "I thought we were going to the video store." Booth reluctantly pulled away from the sexy woman in his arms and smiled at his son.

"We are going to the video store, Parker. I was just kissing Bones goodbye," he explained and Parker snorted.

"That's what you said ten minutes ago, Dad," he reminded a grinning Booth.

"Yeah, yeah. If you're finished complaining, we can go now," he told his son, ruffling his hair, then turned back to Brennan only to find Parker moving determinedly between them.

"Sorry, Bones," Parker apologized bracing his back against Brennan's legs and pushing Booth away from her while looking at her apologetically, "you can kiss him some more when we get back," he offered.

"Thank you, Parker. That's very generous of you," she told him seriously.

"Make him hurry up," the little boy begged Brennan then turned his attention back to his father, "if we don't hurry, mom will be back before we can watch even one movie."

"In that case, your impatience is perfectly understandable, Parker. Your father didn't tell me that," Brennan smoothed Parker's hair back and turned a look on Booth that told him that better not happen again. Parker eyes also narrowed and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Hey, no fair," protested Booth, "you two can't gang up on me." His voice was plaintive but his smile said he was delighted with this turn of events. Parker leaned back against Brennan and gave Booth a gap toothed grin.

"Why not?" asked Brennan, her hand resting on Parker's shoulder, her eyes innocently wide.

"Because I said so," Booth shot back, his hands coming to rest on his hips and doing his best to look intimidating as he looked between the two. He failed miserably.

"That's what he always says when he doesn't have a good answer," a giggling Parker whispered to Brennan.

"I know," she whispered back, looking down at him with love shining in her eyes. If Booth hadn't already been in love with her, he would have fallen hard and irrevocably at that moment.

"Come on, buddy, let's go get a movie," Booth held out a hand to Parker and leaned in to quickly kiss Brennan when he moved away from her to take it. Parker sighed in exasperation, grabbed his dad's hand and started to drag him out of the kitchen. Booth let his son drag him away but his eyes never left Brennan's face as she followed them to the front door. Giving her a slow, sexy wink, he opened the door and ushered Parker out. Halting him on the other side of the door with a single word, Booth crooked a finger at Brennan and she approached willingly.

"I love you, Baby," he said softly, brushing a knuckle gently across her soft cheek.

"I love you, too, Booth," she returned just as softly, unable to resist reaching up to kiss him.

"Hold that thought," he encouraged, hearing Parker start to get fidgety and reluctantly pulling away from her soft lips, "we'll take this up later." With another wink, the door closed behind him.

Brennan sighed and leaned back against the door, a goofy smile on her face, the very picture of a lovesick fool and not caring in the least. She hadn't known it was possible to be as happy as she was right now. She and Booth had wisely used their time together today to talk, well, what time they weren't having mind blowing sex, that is, because neither actually trusted that they wouldn't be interrupted. They had each answered the others questions honestly and patiently and cleared up all the misunderstandings of the last few weeks. They had also made promises to each other to always, always talk out any developing issues because neither had any desire for further misunderstandings.

Brennan couldn't believe how right and comfortable this relationship already felt. She felt like she had come home, that she belonged in a way she hadn't felt since her childhood and it was a feeling that she embraced wholeheartedly. She wasn't naïve enough to think she and Booth would never have any problems. They were both strong willed, opinionated people who had very differing views on many things and they were bound to clash, just like they always had but they now had a much bigger incentive to work it out than ever before.

They loved each other and Brennan was secure in the knowledge that nothing could ever tear them apart, if they didn't let it. The one disagreement they'd had today was about informing Cullen about their change in status. Booth wanted to do it immediately and deal with the consequences. But Brennan thought it would be better if they gave themselves a 6 month period to prove they could be a couple without it interfering with their professional relationship so maybe his superiors wouldn't sever their partnership. They had compromised on a three month trial period and, despite the knot in her stomach at the thought of them no longer being partners, Brennan knew if she had to choose, she would choose to be with Booth without hesitation. And she knew he would make the same choice. Shaking herself out of her reverie, she went back to the kitchen to finish preparing the mac and cheese that Booth had interrupted earlier.

Fifteen minutes later, she was just slipping the mac and cheese into the oven when a dejected Parker walked into the kitchen in front of his frowning father. _Uh oh, it looked like trouble might be brewing between the two._ Raising a brow at Booth, Brennan had no idea what the return eye roll was meant to convey so she turned to Parker.

"What's wrong, Parker?" she asked softly, squatting so that she was on his level and felt her heart melt at his trembling lower lip.

"Daddy took too long and the movie I wanted was already gone," he whined, giving her a pitiful look. Brennan noticed Booth rolling his eyes again but kept her attention on the pouting boy, reaching out to pat his back in sympathy.

"That's too bad, Parker, but, surely, they had another movie you haven't seen yet?" Parker crossed his arms over his chest and shot his father a hostile look then leaned against Brennan, laying his head on her shoulder.

"Yeah, Bones, they had lots of movies but my dad wouldn't let me get one," he whispered pitifully in her ear. Her eyes shot to Booth, who was watching them calmly, apparently waiting to see how she would handle this one. She had no idea what to do, but she wasn't averse to giving it a shot.

"It's really not like your father to take away a treat, Parker. Did something happen that I don't know about?" Booth was impressed at her insight and had to hold back his laughter when Parker shot her a disgruntled look at not finding her quite as pliable to his will as he had evidently expected. Booth knew exactly what his son was doing. He had been punished, didn't like it and was trying to go around his father to get his way. Booth knew he should probably step in but Brennan seemed to be doing fine on her own and this was something she was going to have to learn to deal with. After all, Parker was his son and would always be a big part of their lives. Besides, it would be good practice for when they had their own children.

"You could take me to get a movie, Bones. Please," Parker encouraged, slipping his arms around her neck and giving her a pleading look, followed by his very own Booth charm smile, completely ignoring her earlier question. Brennan might not have much experience with children, but she knew when she was being played by an adorable eight year old. And, unfortunately, she knew what she had to do about it.

"I'm sorry, Parker," she told him sincerely, "but I can't do that. I'm sure your father must have had a legitimate reason to withdraw his offer of a movie and I won't countermand his decision." Parker shot her a narrow eyed glare but his little snit was stopped in its tracks by the sympathy and caring on her face.

"Fine," he sighed and Booth wanted to laugh. He had been truly impressed with how Brennan had just averted that little meltdown without any assistance from him. She was going to make a great mother when she was ready and Booth couldn't believe how much he was looking forward to that day. He wanted to watch her grow big and waddle around with his child, to be there to rub her back and feet when they hurt, to hold her hand in the delivery room as they welcomed their own little miracle into the world. He wanted to raise a family with her and then grow old with her. But more than anything, he wanted to come home to her like this every night for the rest of his life, to have this time that was just theirs, which no one else could ever touch or intrude on.

"Would you like to help me finish dinner?" Booth looked up to find Brennan, once again on her feet, speaking to Parker. The little boy grinned up at her and nodded enthusiastically, apparently over his temper tantrum. Pointing at a stool at the counter, Brennan brought over the lettuce she had already washed for salad and showed Parker how to tear it. Booth watched with a smile as his son meticulously followed instructions, concentrating so hard, his tongue was sticking out the side of his mouth. Brennan walked over and bent down to check the mac and cheese in the oven. When she straightened, two strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against a hard chest, his hands automatically going under her shirt to splay possessively over her abdomen.

"What can I do to help?" he asked, nibbling the side of her neck.

"You can stop that," she answered breathlessly. Sighing, he rested his chin on her shoulder, hugging her tightly.

"Ok, ok, I'll behave," he groused. Parker giggled and Booth and Brennan looked over to find him looking at them with amusement.

"What's so funny?" asked Booth suspiciously, knowing his son was still upset that he had refused to let him get a movie when Parker had pitched a fit in the video store after finding the movie he wanted wasn't available.

"You got in trouble with Bones," his son informed him cheerfully and Booth knew he would now be forgiven. Parker would see a scolding from Brennan as sufficient punishment for his father and the kid didn't know how to hold a grudge, thank goodness. Seeing that Parker was finished tearing lettuce, Booth reluctantly released Brennan and motioned for Parker to hop down from his stool.

"Come on, buddy. Let's set the table for Bones." Getting down plates and silverware, he followed his son into the dining room.

"Dad, are you going to be kissing Bones all the time now?" Brennan stopped what she was doing at Parker's nonchalant question.

"Every chance I get, Parko," Booth said cheerfully. "Is that a problem?" Brennan could hear the concern in Booth's voice and had to admit that she was more than a little curious about why he was asking. Quietly moving toward the doorway, she stood just out of sight and watched father and son, her heart melting as Booth pulled out a chair, sat down and focused his full attention on his son.

"Maybe you shouldn't try to kiss her so much, Dad," Parker suggested, looking at Booth earnestly. Booth was taken aback by the comment. That was certainly a direct about face from Parker thinking it was about freaking time her kissed her to thinking he shouldn't kiss her and Booth knew there had to be something behind it.

"Parker, does it bother you for me to kiss Bones?" Parker shook his head vehemently, looking everywhere but at Booth. "Then what's the problem?" Booth asked raising his sons face so Parker was looking at him. Parker shrugged, sighed, bit his lip then blurted out what was bothering him.

"Mom told Captain Fantastic that she broke up with him because he was always touching her and trying to kiss her even when she didn't want him to and no woman likes to be manhandled," Booth sighed at the words, realizing that the squints weren't the only ones who talked way too much in front of his impressionable son. It was obvious that he had overheard Rebecca say those exact words to someone. "Bones didn't want you to kiss her in the kitchen, Dad, and if you keep trying to kiss her too much, she might break up with us. So, just lay off with the kissing, ok, Dad?" Booth sighed and lifted Parker onto his lap.

"Parker, I don't know why your mom broke up with Brett, but I promise you that Bones isn't going to break up with us for any reason." Parker's eyes narrowed but it never even occurred to him to doubt something his father spoke as the truth.

"Never?" It didn't hurt to make sure, even when you were eight.

"Never, Parker. I will never leave you and your father," Brennan's hand came to rest on Booth's shoulder and she answered the concerned child before Booth could.

"And just for the record, Parker, Bones likes my kisses. She can't get enough of them," Booth assured his now giggling son. Parker looked up at Brennan then gave his father a doubtful glance.

"I don't know, Dad. She doesn't look like she wants to kiss you right now." Booth looked over his shoulder and did a double take. Brennan was blushing and glaring at him at the same time and he found that unbelievably endearing. Winking at her, he held onto the hand that had been resting on his shoulder when she tried to pull away.

"What's this?" Parker asked with interest as he hopped out of Booth's lap and a toy store bag fell out of the chair beside him. "Can I look inside?" he asked Brennan excitedly and she felt bad that she hadn't thought to pick up something for him when she had made the hurried stop.

"It's something I picked up for your dad, Parker, but you can look," Booth gave her a quizzical look and began to laugh heartily when Parker pulled a game of Clue out of the bag.

"Cool," praised Parker, "can we play after dinner?"

"Sure. Why don't you take it into the living room and we'll play in there." Booth was still laughing so Brennan had to answer him. Parker darted off to do as he was told and watch TV until dinner was ready and Brennan tugged on her hand but Booth refused to release her. In the next instant, she found herself seated in his lap, wrapped securely in his strong arms and he was no longer laughing. He was looking at her with brown eyes slowly turning to black as his body very obviously responded to her proximity. His head lowered and she pushed against his shoulders before his lips touched hers because she knew she would be lost then. "Booth, let me go. You don't want to worry Parker." Booth snorted, his forehead coming to rest against hers.

"Parker is fine, Bones. He's watching TV," he assured her, his hands moving to the bottom of her shirt and moving underneath to rest on the bare skin of her back. "Kiss me, Baby," he requested huskily, "you know you want to." Well, yes, she did know that but it wouldn't hurt him to start learning he couldn't always have things his way. It wouldn't hurt him to start learning about delayed gratification.

"Maybe I don't want to," she countered. He laughed huskily, his lips brushing slow, lazy kisses along her jaw toward her mouth.

"Oh, you want to all right," he assured her, pausing at the corner of her mouth for his tongue to dart out and trace her bottom lip. _God, yes, she wanted to kiss him. She wanted him to lift her onto the table and do all sorts of things it would be inappropriate for Parker to see to her._ _To hell with delayed gratification_. With a whimper, she wrapped her arms around his neck and meshed her lips with his, instantly immersed in the steaming vortex of passion that seemed to form whenever they touched each other. Booth was sucked in just as swiftly and had to force himself to raise his head and release her from his clutching hands when the oven timer went off several minutes later. Her head came to rest on his shoulder and his cheek rested atop her head as he held her tightly and they both tried to regain control of their breathing.

Brennan finally became aware of the insistent beep of the oven timer and shakily pushed herself out of Booth's lap to rescue their dinner. Booth would have offered to help but there was no way he could comfortably stand at the moment. In fact, sitting was pretty damned uncomfortable. He would have thought the sexual marathon that they had indulged in over the past 24 hours would have cooled their desire for each other, at least a little. But, it had had the opposite effect. Knowing how good they were together just made him want to experience it over and over and over again and it was obvious that he had the same effect on Brennan. He knew that was one part of their relationship that they never had to worry about, they would always be eager to make love with each other. Silently telling himself to pull it together, he started reciting sports stats in his head so he would be presentable when his son rejoined them.

Two hours later, they were well into their second game of Clue when Rebecca came to collect Parker much earlier than expected. Parker, of course, whined that he was winning and wasn't ready to go. But Rebecca had apparently had an exceptionally crappy date and was in no mood to put up with the little boy's antics. She was by no means inappropriately sharp with Parker, she just used her no-nonsense do as I say mother's voice and he obeyed instantly. Within 10 minutes of her arrival, Booth and Brennan found themselves alone again.

Brennan turned away from closing the door and found herself pinned between the hard door and an equally hard chest. She looked up but Booth didn't give her time to protest as his mouth swooped in to claim hers, kissing her ravenously as if he hadn't tasted her sweetness in months or years rather than minutes. Melting against him with a sigh, she wrapped her arms around his neck, opened her mouth and let him take what he wanted, encouraged him to plunder at will.

Brennan had no idea what the vibrations against her back were until Booth groaned against her mouth and pulled away, cursing fluently. She then realized that someone was pounding on her front door, demanding entrance. With a frustrated groan of her own she wiggled around until she was facing the door and could look out the peephole. Booth hadn't bothered to step back as she was turning and he pressed in even closer, his mouth already attached to her neck. Brennan had to force open her drooping eyelids and look through the peephole twice before she recognized the visitor.

"It's Angela," she gasped, her back arching as Booth's hands firmly slid up her abdomen.

"Ignore her and she'll go away," he ordered, his hands and lips never faltering in their exploration of her body. Brennan, who knew just how relentless her best friend could be, was less sure of that but she decided to go with Booth on this one. Leaning back against him, she raised both arms over her head to encircle his neck and pulled his head down for a deep, wet, tongue thrusting kiss that had them both moaning. In the process of swinging Brennan up into his arms to carry her to the bedroom, Booth paused when Angela's knocking became even louder.

"Come on, Bren, open the door. I know you're in there," Angela called impatiently.

"Booth, I have to answer the door. If I don't she'll just stand there and knock all night," Brennan panted and Booth sighed, knowing she was probably right. Reluctantly sitting her down, he began to straighten his clothing as Brennan quickly did the same thing.

"Wait," he hissed as she reached to open the door. With his body in its current state, Angela would know what they had been doing the instant she walked in the door. Not that he really minded Angela knowing that he and Brennan were in a relationship, he would just rather not have her eyeing the merchandise. Walking back into the living room, he sat on the sofa but that really didn't help so he slid down onto the floor so that the view of his bottom half was blocked by the table. Brennan stood with her hand on the doorknob, rolling her eyes at his modesty while Angela continued to pound on the door. Booth finally got himself settled satisfactorily and nodded for Brennan to let the artist in.

"Sweetie, I was beginning to wonder if you were all right," Angela sailed right past Brennan and stopped in her tracks when she saw Booth. She turned to Brennan, her eyes wide and apologetic, "I'm so sorry, Bren. I just need to pick up that dress and those shoes and I'll get out of your way." She gave Brennan a slow, knowing smile and then turned it on Booth. Booth was watching Angela's face closely to see just how much she was picking up on and he found it hilarious when her eyes fell on the board game spread out over the coffee table. The knowing grin faltered then disappeared completely to be replaced by shock and incredulity. Not noticing anything amiss, Brennan headed to her bedroom to retrieve the items Angela had requested.

Angela stared at the game of Clue spread out all Brennan's coffee table and was, for the first time in her memory, speechless. Her eyes darted from Booth back to the game back to Booth, not believing what she was seeing. She just couldn't believe that he was stupid enough to want to play board games with Brennan when the anthropologist had offered him everything. But the evidence that he was, indeed, that stupid was spread out before her disbelieving eyes. And Angela had worked with scientists long enough to know the value of evidence. And this evidence told her that these two were obviously beyond her help. She had no idea what their problem was and, at this point, she didn't want to know. She was out of this. From here on out, these two were on their own. They could figure this out, or not, but it was no longer her problem.

"Bones told me that you suggested she pick up the game, Ange. I really appreciate that." Booth grinned at her innocently and Angela didn't know whether to laugh hysterically or give him a piece of her mind. _No,_ she decided, _she would do neither_. She would collect the items that she had come for and politely be on her way, leaving these two to whatever the hell they got up to when they were alone. _But, if Booth turned down sex in favor of playing Clue, you had to wonder what he would trade for a good game of Monopoly._

"Um, yeah, sure, Booth," Angela answered absently, looking down the hallway and praying for Brennan to hurry before her curiosity got the better of her and she started asking questions. Her prayers were answered when she saw Brennan hurrying toward her with a garment bag and a shoe box. Grabbing the items with more haste than Brennan had ever seen from the artist, Angela headed for the door throwing a wave in Booth's general direction. Brennan's voice halted her just as she reached for the doorknob.

"I got you something at the toy store, Angela," Brennan told her softly holding out a bag. Angela blinked at her a couple of times then slowly reached out and took the bag, smiling a little quizzically.

"Um, thanks, Bren," she murmured after looking into the bag, "but it's not my birthday."

"I know," shrugged Brennan, "but I decided it was time for you to _get a clue_." Angela noted how her friend stressed the last few words but she had no earthly idea what Brennan was talking about so she just smiled, nodded, and thanked her for the gift, quickly leaving the apartment.

"Oh, Baby, did you just make a joke?" Booth asked coming up behind Brennan as she stood watching Angela make her way to the elevator and slipping his arms around her waist.

"I just tried but I don't think it worked," she sighed, leaning back against him.

"I think I can help you out with this one," he offered softly. She had already told him what she intended to do and he was afraid that Angela wouldn't get it but he was more than happy to lend his assistance.

"How?" She asked looking at him over her shoulder. With a wicked grin, he slowly turned her to face him and stepped forward into the doorway of her apartment far enough that they could be clearly seen from the elevator. "Booth, I'm not going to make out with you here in the hallway," she objected.

"Okay," he agreed, his hands coming up to cup her face tenderly, his head lowering toward hers.

"I mean it, Booth," Brennan warned but her breathless voice lacked conviction.

"Um hm," he murmured as his lips softly brushed across hers, then came back for more. Within seconds, his hands had speared into her hair and she had wrapped herself around him and neither of them was giving a second thought to Angela.

Angela's steps slowed as she approached the elevator, her mind going back to Brennan's words. Brennan had said it was time for her to get a clue not it was time for her to get the game clue which was what was in the bag. _What_ _did that mean? _ It had to mean something or Brennan wouldn't have said it. Then again, maybe not. Maybe whatever wonkiness that was affecting Booth was also starting to take its toll on her best friend. _God, those two were starting to give her headaches,_ she thought rubbing her temples lightly as she stepped into the elevator. _Get a clue, get a clue, get a clue_ ran through her head like a chant as she punched the button for the lobby and waited for the doors to close. The proverbial light bulb went off just seconds before the doors slid together. Angela gasped and her gaze darted back toward Brennan's apartment and she saw what were very obviously two lovers entwined in a passionate embrace. And if they didn't take it inside soon, they were going to be arrested for public indecency. Clamping a hand over her mouth to hold in the squeal, she craned her neck to get a better view until the elevator doors closed in her face. Removing her hand from her mouth, Angela let out the squeal that she had been saving for this particular situation for over five years. Brennan jumped and Booth winced as an almost inhuman sound streamed from the elevator and echoed eerily down the hallway.

"Was that Angela?" Brennan gasped, tilting back her head and looking at him quizzically.

"It must have been but I didn't even know that people could make sounds like that," Booth shuddered as that sound continued to echo around them. "Damn, I hope no one was in that elevator with her or they're likely to be deaf for life."

"I would think that they would require medical assistance, at the very least," Brennan nodded her agreement. "Maybe we should check, Booth." Brennan looked toward the elevator in concern, pulling out of his arms and starting in that direction.

"Uh uh," catching her hand, he pulled her into the apartment, firmly closing and locking the door behind them.

"But, Booth, someone might be hurt," she objected.

"Angela can handle it," he assured her, leaning down to stop any further objections with his lips. Trading deep, wet kisses, he slowly backed her down the hallway toward the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothing in their wake. They had had enough interruptions for one day and now it was time for them. They both knew that there would always be interruptions but, now, they also knew when those interruptions were over, they would both be exactly where they wanted to be, where they belonged. Together. In each other's arms.


End file.
